Ecodrive seeks sustainable reuse for EV car batteries

Ecodrive and Wattstor are teaming up with the University of Exeter’s Penryn-based Environment and Sustainability Institute (ESI) to monitor and manage the battery of an electric vehicle.

The ESI is now entering into a detailed study to determine how the monetary value of batteries changes over time, depending on their use.

The study will help sellers to evaluate accurately the value of pre-owned vehicles.

This will enable in substituting a market for pre-owned EVs which can be boosted up for used EV batteries including purposes like energy storage for buildings.

The cost of EV batteries is higher than that of conventional vehicles which escalates the total price of the vehicle.

Over the last four years, the price of EVs has fallen by 40 percent, but batteries still remain expensive at around £5,000.

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Under the leadership of Xiaoyu Yan of the ESI, a team will develop a procedure to identify the monetary value of a battery and govern the best ways of extending its life.

By installing monitors on EVs, it will be possible to capture a detailed picture of an EV battery’s whole life to determine its value, help users maximize its life and identify a range of second-life uses for EV batteries once they finish to offer the range the EV user needs, said Yan.

This partnership will provide a robust data that will boost the re-sale market for EVs and will also open up new markets for batteries in other sectors, such as renewable energy storage for buildings, noted, Matthew Trevaskis, director, Ecodrive.

Electric cars have a much-longer life than conventional vehicles, but the battery is like a car within a car with its own depreciation and people need to know what this is, added, Mark Scibor-Rylski, intervention business mentor, University of Exeter.

Tremough Innovation Centre business Wattstor worked previously with the ESI to develop its innovative building energy storage system for wind or solar power.

The company, in collaboration with ESI is involved in this project to maximize the potential for used EV batteries being used for energy storage in homes, giving them value they would otherwise not have.

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