MEGAPROJECT: THE CIRCULAR REGION
FOCUS AREA: CIRCULAR ECONOMY IN PRACTICE
CHALLENGE: SECOND-LIFE BATTERIES FOR ENERGY SYSTEM APPLICATIONS
CHALLENGE DESCRIPTION:
As a battery is being used, the remaining capacity becomes smaller and smaller. In automotive applications the End-of-Life is defined as 80 % of the Beginning-of-Life capacity. In other applications such as laptops, electric bikes, etc. there is also still some useful energy left in the battery when it is being discarded. The main idea of second-life batteries is that the batteries could be used in other applications in the energy system (e.g. for PV or grid storage) than originally planned, and thus, potentially perform important system services at low cost.
IMPACTED SDGS:
PROPOSED PROJECT PROBLEMS:
- Develop scenarios and assess the scale and techno-economic feasibility of the ‘battery-system’ in an energy system perspective
- Develop methods to assess battery cells for second-life applications
- Develop collection/drop-off systems, including a business model for this
- Identify potential environmental impacts incl. carbon and material footprints/savings and influence on Rare-Earth-Material problem
- Develop public regulation and planning instruments to ease reuse of batteries (for energy system applications)
- Develop battery packs or appliances designed for easy battery reuse
CHALLENGE PROPOSER:
Erik Schaltz
Energy technology
esc@et.aau.dk
CO-POPOSERS:
Karl Sperling
Planning
karl@plan.aau.dk