Recycled battery storage unit set to connect to the grid

2016 should see the world’s largest second-use battery storage unit made from recycled systems of electric vehicles go into operation in Lünen, Germany.

The project, part of a joint venture between automotive company Daimler AG (Mercedes-Benz brand), energy storage solution business The Mobility House AG and energy service provider GETEC, is using systems from the second generation of smart electric drive vehicles and incorporating them into a stationary storage unit with a total capacity of 13 MWh.

The second-use battery storage unit will be operated from the beginning of next year at the site of recycling company REMONDIS, and the generated electricity will be sold in the German electricity market.

The process aims to improve the environmental performance of electric vehicles, helping to make e-mobility more economically efficient.

Under the banner of ‘E-Mobility thought to the end’, the collaborating companies are mapping out the entire battery value creation and recycling chain.

High-performance battery storage units are considered an important component in the successful transition to renewable energy, and with an increasing supply of electricity from fluctuating renewable energies, such as wind farms or solar power stations, they can help stabilise power grids.

The units can be used to level out energy fluctuations with virtually no loss — a role that is currently partly fulfilled by fossil power plants.

With their second-use battery storage project in Lünen, the four partners said they are proving that the life cycle of a plug-in or electric vehicle battery does not end after its automotive life.

Image caption: © Daimler. Groundbreaking — World's largest second-use battery storage unit, Lünen. From L-R: Klemens Rethmann (Rethmann Group); Uwe Beckmeyer (Parl. Staatssekretär); Dieter Zetsche (CEO Daimler AG); Karl Gerhold (CEO GETEC Group); Thomas Raffeiner (CEO The Mobility House).

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