Second Life of Energy Storage Battery: Promising Sustainable Growth for Grid and Related Applications

Abstract

Electric vehicle (EVs) cost is coming down and EVs are getting the top priority in the government’s sustainable development agenda worldwide. Usage of fossil fuel will be declining and future of transportation will be electric. As manufacturing of EVs increases, there is tremendous growth in demand for energy storage batteries. Electric vehicle demands high performance from their batteries, so once battery capacity declines to 70–80%, it has to be replaced with a new one. During that point, batteries can still handle a good amount of charge and discharge and thus, there is a second life of a battery which can be deployed at static energy storage applications such as grid storage, renewable energy power plants, ancillary service market, residential usage, data center back-up applications, etc. This paper studies the role of second life of a battery in the electric grid and its contribution towards the growth of renewable energy penetration in India. This paper will look at the options to tackle the different dimensions, pros and cons of the second life of batteries, from the vehicle life to the stationary life; life cycle assessment of second life battery applications and alternatives for ageing vehicles batteries besides the grid applications.