Korean carmaker Kia and German railway company Deutsche Bahn (DB) have partnered to repurpose batteries used in electric vehicles (EVs) to create efficient and cost-effective storage systems for green electricity.
According to the pair, the second-life battery energy storage solutions are modular and can be used across a variety of applications, such as saving surplus electricity from photovoltaic systems or as part of a distributed system.
The idea behind the project is to help cut the cost of power peaks.
“It’s more urgent than ever for us to save power,” says Berthold Huber, member of the management board of Deutsche Bahn for infrastructure.
“Our new second-life battery energy storage systems offer a solution that is also sustainable.
“And that makes it an attractive option for any industry.”
The first pilot project went into operation at the EUREF campus in Berlin in July 2022.
Additional storage systems are being installed at various DB locations, including the ICE maintenance depot in Leipzig, the digital test centre in Scheibenberg and Zorneding station in Bavaria.
The two companies suggest that any organisation with high power and/or energy demands and wants to find renewable solutions can benefit from the system.
Kia dealerships send the batteries directly to encore, which then inspects them and checks them for safety and quality. Battery modules with sufficient capacity then become second-life battery energy storage systems, with encore sending any unsuitable batteries to be recycled.
The batteries and new energy storage units are transported throughout Europe largely through DB’s logistics network. This can present some challenges due to strict legal requirements around things such as labeling and temperature control.
