This is how JLR recycles its electric car batteries

The group Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) partnered with Wykes Engineering, a leader in renewable energy, to develop theone of the largest energy storage systems in the UK. This system uses second life batteries from the Jaguar I-Pace to store solar and wind energy.

“Our sustainability approach covers the entire value chain of our vehicles, including the circularity of electric vehicle batteries. Our electric car batteries are engineered to the highest standards, and this innovative project, in collaboration with Wykes Engineering, proves that they can be safely reused for applications in the energy sector, to increase renewable energy opportunities. Together with leading industry partners, we are developing a complete ecosystem of electric vehicles, from batteries to charging, supporting our carbon neutral transformation.”said François Dossa, Executive Director of Strategy and Sustainability at JLR.

Electric car batteries get a second life

only one battery energy storage system (BESS ou Battery Energy Storage System) de Wykes Engineering utilise 30 I-Pace second life batteriesand can store up to 2.5 MWh of energy at full capacity. The batteries come from prototypes and technical test vehicles, and by the end of 2023, JLR expects to supply enough electric car batteries to store a total of 7.5 MWh of energy. That’s enough energy to power 750 homes for a day. In the future, other containers may be created to house additional second-life batteries removed from used production vehicles.

Each BESS is connected to an advanced inverter to maximize efficiency and manage energy. He is able to supply power directly to the grid during peak hours, as well as drawing energy from the grid during off-peak hours, in order to store it for later reuse. Battery storage systems like this are critical to decarbonizing the grid because they can cope with rapid peaks in demand and maximize solar and wind energy storage in sunny or windy conditions, to be reused when needed.

As part of this technical partnership, Wykes Engineering and JLR carried out a seamless integration, without requiring additional manufacturing steps or the removal of battery modules. The batteries are simply removed from the Jaguar I-Pace and inserted into racks located in the containers on site, helping to maximize the sustainability of the project.

A new step in the circular economy

This partnership represents an important step in JLR’s adoption of the principles ofcircular economy, which are part of the company’s strategy to achieve net zero carbon by 2039. The supply of second-life electric car batteries for stationary applications, such as renewable energy storage, could exceed 200 GWh per year by 2030, creating value of over $30 billion globally. JLR batteries are designed to the highest standards, so can be deployed in low power situations, once their condition falls below the stringent requirements for an electric vehicle.

The battery reuse will also create new circular economy business models for JLR, particularly in the field of energy storage. Once the condition of the batteries drops below the level required for these secondary use cases, JLR will recycle these batteries again so that the raw materials can be recovered, and reused in a true circular economy.

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