A new partnership for the 2nd life of electric vehicle batteries is launched
june 2022
Entech is launching the ABR (Automotive Batteries Reuse) project, supported by the Brittany Region, Quimper Bretagne Occidentale and Rennes Métropole. The consortium, made up of Stellantis, Talendi, the University of Southern Brittany (Dupuy de Lôme Research Institute) and Entech, will work on developing second-life storage solutions for automotive batteries.
“To develop a field and innovations around the dismantling of automotive batteries (diagnosis, safety, data, etc.) and to propose solutions to optimise the second life of batteries“. This is the stated objective of the ABR Project, a project led by Entech, in association with Stellantis, Talendi and the University of Southern Brittany (Dupuy de Lôme Research Institute, Joint
The project is funded by the Brittany Region, Quimper Bretagne Occidentale and Rennes Métropole, to the tune of €495.8k over two years. ABR Project has also been approved by the ID4CAR pole, which has recognised the innovative nature of the project and the relevance of the economic outlets envisaged.
For Christopher Franquet, CEO of Entech, “The second life of electric vehicle batteries could represent a huge market, but there are still many obstacles to be overcome before this market can be economically viable. Entech is one of the companies capable of developing the new technologies that will make it possible for this sector to flourish.”
The electric vehicle market is expected to continue to grow in the coming years, with an ever wider range of products being offered by manufacturers and the democratisation of charging stations throughout the country. Various scenarios confirm this trend of increasing electric mobility, which may represent 80% of the European market in 2050. This growth in electric vehicles must be accompanied by a reflection on the end-of-life of batteries. While the mobile life of a lithium-ion battery is about 12 years, it retains up to 75% of its storage capacity for stationary use.
"...Entech is one of the companies capable of developing the new technologies that will make it possible for this sector to flourish."
According to these parameters, the 2nd life batteries available in 2030 could reach a capacity of 140 GWh. In parallel, the market for stationary storage to meet network needs is also growing constantly. It should reach 160 GWh/year by 2030, including 35 GWh/year in Europe. Second life storage solutions could therefore cover a large part of the needs of the stationary market.
The development of a storage sector based on second-life batteries is therefore possible, provided that innovations are implemented around the dismantling of automotive batteries and solutions to optimise the second life of batteries.
This is the purpose of the ABR project, led by Entech, which will make it possible to develop several aspects around the theme of second-life batteries:
- The market positioning of systems: which economic model for the recovery of second life batteries? Which business model? What are the prospects for the years to come?
- Management of packs at the end of their first life in the vehicle: improving diagnosis to better direct batteries towards the second life or recycling;
- Second life management of packs in stationary storage applications with :
– A storage container directly integrating packs as they are taken out of vehicles, for charge transfer or network services
– A storage cabinet for charging “small mobility” or the residential sector, in partnership with Talendi for disassembling packs into modules
– The development of a digital twin of the container for diagnosis/prognosis of the state of health of the batteries
The 2nd life batteries available in 2030 could reach a capacity of 140 GWh
The 2nd life packs will be supplied to Entech and Talendi by Stellantis as part of the project, in agreement with Stellantis’ wish to move towards a virtuous circle in the management of its used batteries, and to develop, in partnership with the consortium, suitable solutions.
The ABR project follows on from two previous projects carried out by Entech, which have already focused on second life with the integration of Stellantis packs in containerised storage systems.
