STORAGE

SECOND LIFE STORAGE BATTERIES:

A true circular economy solution

REVOV supplies storage batteries for the renewable energy and uninterrupted power supply market in Sub-Saharan Africa that are repurposed from the cells of electric vehicle batteries. Why does this matter?

TM

BY LANCE DICKERSON, MD AT REVOV

Here’s the context: lithium iron phosphate batteries are superior to lead-acid batteries in every metric, from safety to performance. The storage batteries are used in uninterrupted power supply (UPS) systems for power back up or in renewable energy installations to provide off-grid or hybrid power solutions. Ordinarily, the lithium supply chain pressures caused by growing lithium shortages – driven by the surge in electric vehicles (EVs) – would spell bad news in terms of affordability.

However, second-life batteries, which are repurposed from the cells in replaced EV batteries, have stepped up to fill the void. Every EV’s battery needs to be replaced when the weight no longer justifies the performance. Ordinarily these batteries would end up in landfills. However, the individual cells, when repurposed correctly and when built into batteries with intelligent management systems, still have enough life and performance in them to provide stationary storage for as long as first-life batteries with the added benefit of performance specifications unique to the EV sector, such as the capacity to perform in harsh conditions.

This is how REVOV has built its business: by securing these premium cells and by building premium second-life batteries, we’ve provided a compelling solution to close the circular economy in Sub-Saharan Africa.

The time is right for partnerships that will change the face of energy storage. Imagine the possibilities that reside within repurposing the cells of the Audi E-Tron that won a stage at the Dakar and using the second-life batteries to provide energy storage at a renewable plant: the symbolism couldn’t be more poignant as we are quite literally in a race to save the planet. REVOV’s pre-assembled, self-contained High Voltage batteries are affordable, providing the lowest cost per usable kWh. Compatible with Atess HPS inverters and others.

REVOV PRIME 100kWh.

Why? Because in the absence of a viable recycling value chain, we know the batteries end up in landfills – which is the opposite of what saving the planet should look like. However, the individual cells in these EV batteries still have many years’ life – up to 10 or 15 years – if they are repurposed correctly and built into storage batteries where weight doesn’t matter.

That’s the position in the circular economy that REVOV was created to fill because what better way to contribute to the wellbeing of the economy than to supply energy backup to another burgeoning industry – renewable energy – using secondlife batteries? South Africa’s government has started making very promising moves, not least in raising the embedded generation threshold from 1MW to 100MW. Besides energy security, which is crucial for this country to reach its potential, it is clean energy. It becomes obvious why the carbon-friendly second-life battery option is ready to step up and play a crucial role in our future.

Sure, there are brand new lithium batteries that are built to go into the storage market, but when you consider that there is a trivial difference in performance, and in some instances superior performance from the EV cells used in second-life batteries, it becomes a no-brainer. Why add additional strain to the lithium supply chain when we can solve a massive problem for the EV industry and close a vital gap in the energy storage industry?

REVOV predicts second-life batteries will become the dominant battery type providing energy backup to power renewable energy installations and UPS systems.