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Silicon Valley Nation: Solving EV battery-disposal problems?
Brian Fuller
11/21/2012 4:12 PM EST
SAN FRANCISCO--Usually, solutions, like water, find their way.
During our year-long Drive for Innovation, most of our conversations bored in on the Chevy Volt's battery and, secondarily, what happens after the 10-year warranty? What's the infrastructure for reclamation?
Turns out, there isn't one yet. Stopping at dealership in Renton, Wash., we heard a story about a woman--a big Toyota Prius fan--who got some unwanted news when it came time to replace her car's battery. She had no problem paying the $5,000 replacement cost. But then she asked what recycling process would the old battery undergo. Recycling? What recycling, came the reply. These get shipped off into the desert. She was mortified and outraged.
This week, General Motors and ABB took a step toward solving that problem and calming those concerns.
At GM's "Electrification Experience" here, the two companies showed off a prototype modular battery-reuse unit (pictured right) that repackages five of the Volt's LiOn batteries to serve as neighborhood power storage.
Two hours' power
The prototype unit provided 25 kW of power and 50 kWh of energy to power all the support lighting and audiovisual equipment in an “off-grid” structure used for the event. GM and ABB said such a prototype delivers enough juice to power 3-5 average American homes for two hours. In the demonstrations here, 100 percent of the power for the "remote power backup" came from Volt batteries through ABB’s Energy Storage Inverter system.
"In many cases, when an EV battery has reached the end of its life in an automotive application, only 30 percent or less of its life has been used," said Pablo Valencia, GM senior manager of battery lifecycle management. "This leaves a tremendous amount of life that can be applied to other applications like powering a structure before the battery is recycled.”
This is not ABB's first foray into battery-reuse. In January, the company announced an arrangement with Nissan North America, 4R Energy and Sumitomo Corp. of America to evaluate and test the all-electric Nissan Leaf battery for residential and commercial use as energy storage systems. ABB’s research center in Raleigh, N.C., conducted the research and development, and ABB’s Medium Voltage business unit in Lake Mary, Fla., is managing the proof-of-concept testing, market research and product development.
The demonstration, perhaps not coincidentally, was publicized on the same day that GM announced it will have a half-million vehicles with electrification in five years. That's a lot of batteries that will need some afterlife love.
Related stories:
--Volt battery pack teardown
--Drive for Innovation: Storing volts
During our year-long Drive for Innovation, most of our conversations bored in on the Chevy Volt's battery and, secondarily, what happens after the 10-year warranty? What's the infrastructure for reclamation?
Turns out, there isn't one yet. Stopping at dealership in Renton, Wash., we heard a story about a woman--a big Toyota Prius fan--who got some unwanted news when it came time to replace her car's battery. She had no problem paying the $5,000 replacement cost. But then she asked what recycling process would the old battery undergo. Recycling? What recycling, came the reply. These get shipped off into the desert. She was mortified and outraged.
This week, General Motors and ABB took a step toward solving that problem and calming those concerns.
At GM's "Electrification Experience" here, the two companies showed off a prototype modular battery-reuse unit (pictured right) that repackages five of the Volt's LiOn batteries to serve as neighborhood power storage.
Two hours' power
The prototype unit provided 25 kW of power and 50 kWh of energy to power all the support lighting and audiovisual equipment in an “off-grid” structure used for the event. GM and ABB said such a prototype delivers enough juice to power 3-5 average American homes for two hours. In the demonstrations here, 100 percent of the power for the "remote power backup" came from Volt batteries through ABB’s Energy Storage Inverter system.
"In many cases, when an EV battery has reached the end of its life in an automotive application, only 30 percent or less of its life has been used," said Pablo Valencia, GM senior manager of battery lifecycle management. "This leaves a tremendous amount of life that can be applied to other applications like powering a structure before the battery is recycled.”
This is not ABB's first foray into battery-reuse. In January, the company announced an arrangement with Nissan North America, 4R Energy and Sumitomo Corp. of America to evaluate and test the all-electric Nissan Leaf battery for residential and commercial use as energy storage systems. ABB’s research center in Raleigh, N.C., conducted the research and development, and ABB’s Medium Voltage business unit in Lake Mary, Fla., is managing the proof-of-concept testing, market research and product development.
The demonstration, perhaps not coincidentally, was publicized on the same day that GM announced it will have a half-million vehicles with electrification in five years. That's a lot of batteries that will need some afterlife love.
Related stories:
--Volt battery pack teardown
--Drive for Innovation: Storing volts
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Battery Solutions
11/28/2012 10:51 AM EST
Battery Solutions, Inc in Howell, MI and Mesa, AZ is doing the recycling of EV batteries. Visit our website at www.batteryrecycling.com
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