The potential for second-life batteries is massive. At scale, second-life batteries could significantly lower BESS project costs, paving the way for broader adoption of wind and solar power and unlocking new markets and use cases for energy storage.
Second-life batteries can considerably reduce the cost as well as the environmental impact of stationary battery energy storage. Major challenges to second-life deployment include streamlining the battery repurposing process and ensuring long-term battery performance. Can used EV batteries be repurposed for second life applications? [AFP/Getty]
Second-life batteries present an immediate opportunity, the viability of which will be proven or disproven in the next few years. Second-life batteries can considerably reduce the cost as well as the environmental impact of stationary battery energy storage.
Second-life batteries will either fail or experience exponential growth over the next 3–5 years. Retired batteries are available in increasing quantities, and there is clear demand for low-cost, stationary energy storage. Companies seeking to take advantage of the opportunity must act now, or risk missing the boat.
This paper considers some of the issues of safety over the life cycle of batteries, including: the End of Life disposal of batteries, their potential reuse in a second-life application (e.g. in Battery Energy Storage Systems), recycling and unscheduled End of Life (i.e. accidents).
However, spent batteries are commonly less reliable than fresh batteries due to their degraded performance, thereby necessitating a comprehensive assessment from safety and economic perspectives before further utilization. To this end, this paper reviews the key technological and economic aspects of second-life batteries (SLBs).