Partially depleted Chevy Volt batteries might find new life one day in energy storage applications outside the vehicle, such as parceling out power to homes during blackouts.
General Motors has entered a pilot program with the residential energy provider Duke Energy to put lithium-ion batteries to work in grid test demonstrations. To learn more about the concept's viability, Duke plans to use a module incorporating five Chevy Volt batteries. "Duke will look at the cost efficiencies and utility of the system to determine whether they can use it in more applications in the future," Kevin Kelly, a spokeman for GM, told us.
Though little is known about Duke's test application, GM says that five Volt batteries, packaged together in a single module, could provide two hours of electricity for five average American homes. In a recent off-grid demonstration using an energy storage inverter from ABB, a prototype module supplied 50kWh of energy to support lighting and audiovisual equipment.
A module with five used Chevy Volt batteries could provide two hours of electricity to five average American homes. (Source: GM)
GM engineers say Volt batteries could supply an additional 15 years of energy, even after the cells can no longer be used in a vehicle. The key to such ongoing capability is the way EV batteries are being designed and used in electric cars. To minimize warranty costs, today's EV manufacturers typically make their batteries much larger than they need to be. The batteries operate within large buffer zones, which enhance their automotive life by preventing them from reaching a fully charged or fully discharged state. As a result, the batteries may still have 70 percent of their capacity remaining when they reach the end of their useful automotive life.
Nissan Motor Co., maker of the Leaf electric car, is investigating using its 24kWh lithium-ion batteries in similar applications.
Industry analysts say the concept needs years of testing before it can be called viable. "We're still in the early days of electric vehicle battery usage," Cosmin Laslau, an analyst for Lux Research, told us.
It's probably going to be another five to 10 years before we can fully quantify and understand the wear on the batteries. Right now, we don't really know what a Chevy Volt or Nissan Leaf battery would look like after a decade of real-world use. Even with accelerated testing, it's still difficult to predict.
GM envisions the batteries serving in residential subdivisions near local transformers to provide energy for homes during blackouts or brownouts. Utilities might also use the batteries as a form of storage to back up intermittent renewable sources, such as wind and solar. GM hopes the concept will help delay the inevitable recycling of used EV batteries. "The last thing we are looking at today is recycling," Kelly said. "Secondary life is our focus right now."
Industry analysts say there may be a long wait before anyone knows if utilities will accept the concept. "There's a limited volume of EVs out there right now," Laslau said. "There are thousands of batteries available, but in the grand scheme of things, that's a drop in the bucket for the grid. Until EV sales really pick up, it's going to be hard to get the attention of the major players in the grid space."
Cap'n, that is a great idea. Even if it is only an interim solution, it keeps the batteries useful even after their first use is done. This also makes it an inexpensive way to transition the electric grid to a more distributed system, which is important to the use of wind and solar.
What really encourages me is the clever ways which engineers find to resue and extend. In the Wall Street Journal yesterday there was an article about a company that is extracting additional iron ore from mine trailings using magnets. If there is value in a device or material then an engineer will find a way to take advantage of it.
This is a great idea. I am an avowed skeptic, but this is something I can agree on. Owning an electric car, knowing I could re-use the batteries at home for energy storage, makes economic sense. Now I can start to calculate payback not only in gas mileage, but home energy use as well.
Like to see more information and exploration of what happens to these batteries when the vehicle ceases to be drivable.
Agree that this is really a fantastic idea. So much better to reuse these types of batteries past their expiration date in a car rather than have them end up in a landfill somewhere. It's really inspiring to see researchers really working to find new and invent ways to use and reuse energy sources.
Just remember, these things are very high voltage. My mechanic is afraid to work on electric assisted cars for that reason. It is one thing to work with 110/220, but 700 volts or whatever they are? You have to know what you are doing, plus how many inverters work with high DC voltages?
The article says the GM demo was done with an ABB "energy storage inverter" which sounds by the name at least to be targeted at this specific app. My neighborhood could definitely use one of these modules near the local transformer.
Naperlou, for the moment, the effect of this may be virtually non-existent because there are so few lithium-ion electric car batteries out there. There aren't many EVs out there, and the few batteries that are available for this purpose will probably be in the vehicles for another six or seven years. At some point, though, this idea will be a viable one. It means the batteries won't have to be recycled for an additional 10-15 years after their vehicles lives are finished.
As a free market advocate, the time frame you mention does not bode well for continued private research. In this case, I do support government helping (short-term) to bring this technology to market. The more we can keep these batteries in use, the less likely we will have to deal with potential recycle contamination nightmares.
It also makes sense if a car buyer can cost justify the more expensive batteries across 10 to 15 years (powering their home as well as their commute).
Yes, and I'll use the tyres and fill them with dirt for home constructions and the glass for my skylight while I sit on the comfy seats. Get real. Recycled car parts is an idea with very few uses in the real world.
When the time comse that I really need to use old car batteries for power, I 'll simply steal yours...along with your baked beans and ammo.
Tesla Motors plans to roll out a “compelling, affordable electric car” that will sell for about half the price of its high-profile Model S by the end of 2016, company chairman Elon Musk said last week.
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