San Antonio is about to become home to a unique project that turns old electric vehicle batteries into grid-level storage.
According to Interesting Engineering, the Bexar County site is B2U Storage Solutions' first foray into the Lone Star State. Reuters reported that renewable energy and battery storage are booming in Texas.
"Even when EV batteries can no longer power a car efficiently, they still retain a significant amount of usable capacity, sometimes up to 70% to 80%," the Interesting Engineering article mentioned when referencing the project.
B2U takes the old packs and plugs them into cabinets with high-tech software and artificial intelligence. The cabinets provide for "plug-and-play" reuse thanks to continuous management that can handle batteries from a variety of EVs with different capacities, getting use out of them all.
"In B2U's system, weaker batteries don't restrict the performance of stronger batteries," the company wrote on its website.
B2U made headlines a couple of years ago for its Lancaster, California, site that uses old Honda and Nissan packs. It's among three projects on the West Coast.
The San Antonio effort will house 500 old EV batteries in 21 cabinets, which are planned to be contributing to the state power grid by the end of the year. The company plans to add three more sites in Texas during the next 12 months, according to a news release published by the American Public Power Association.
The Bexar site will provide "safe and reliable operation 24/7, and [leverage] AI to optimally bid and deliver power and grid services into wholesale markets," B2U said in the release.
By extending pack lifespans, B2U is providing greater return on investment for the power storers while limiting the need to make new ones.
Battery recycling is a challenging process that requires pack deconstruction to access the valuable metals inside, according to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Efforts by Mercedes-Benz and others are providing better ways to reclaim the components as well.
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They're not efficient enough ⚡ That's important, as NPR reported that EV batteries contain materials such as lithium that are harvested with invasive mining. However, the story added that "study after study" has shown that EVs are the overall cleaner option compared to gas-burning cars.
"Building a battery is an environmental cost that's paid once. Burning gasoline is a cost that's paid again, and again, and again," NPR noted.
Replacing your gas car with an EV prevents thousands of pounds of heat-trapping air pollution each year. That's true even in states where dirty energy produces most of the power to charge them, the U.S. Department of Energy reported. Buying an EV by the end of September secures up to $7,500 in tax incentives before they expire.
For their part, EV batteries typically come with an eight-year, 100,000-mile warranty. However, the Stanford Report highlighted studies that found they may last 40% longer than expected. When their road-worthy lifespan eventually ends, B2U intends to put them to use storing solar energy for the grid.
In Texas, growing power demand and expanding solar and wind projects make the state a good fit for this type of work.
"When the sun isn't shining or the wind isn't blowing, battery storage is crucial for maintaining stability," the Interesting Engineering report said. "In B2U's view, this makes the market an ideal fit for their backup battery systems."
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