System Gives Used EV Batteries a Second Life in the Solar PV Storage Market

Original article published in Design News

December 1, 2017 – RP Siegel

With the large-scale penetration of renewable energy, both at the utility and residential levels, comes a number of challenges, including integrating this capacity, with its unique, intermittent characteristics, onto the grid.

At the same time, with millions of electric cars expected to hit the road in the years to come, some concerns have been raised about a potential battery waste problem. According to Ajay Kochhar, CEO of Canadian battery recycling startup Li-Cycle, if EV growth proceeds as expected, we could be looking at something like 11 million metric tons of lithium batteries entering the waste stream by 2030.

Automaker Nissan and electrical equipment maker Eaton have teamed up to produce the xStorage Home system, which could be a solution to both problems.