Jaguar Land Rover to repurpose second-life EV batteries for BESS. Image: JLR.

Car manufacturer Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) has partnered with Wykes Engineering to repurpose second-life electric vehicle (EV) batteries for a battery energy storage system (BESS).

A single Wykes Engineering BESS comprises of 30 second-life I-PACE batteries and is capable of storing up to 2.5MWh of energy at full capacity.

JLR stated that it aims to supply enough second-life EV batteries to store a total of 7.5MWh of energy by the end of 2023. After this point, more containers can be created to house additional second-life batteries removed from used production vehicles in the future.

The car batteries will be taken from Jaguar’s prototype and engineering test vehicles and will be used once their health falls below the stringent requirements of an EV, which typically leaves a 70-80% residual capacity.??

“Our sustainability approach addresses the entire value chain of our vehicles, including circularity of EV batteries.?Our EV batteries are engineered to the highest standards and this innovative project, in collaboration with Wykes Engineering, proves they can be safely reused for energy sector application to increase renewable energy opportunities,” said François Dossa, executive director of strategy and sustainability at JLR.

“Using the 70-80% residual capacity in EV batteries, before being recycled, demonstrates full adoption of circularity principles. Working together with industry-leading partners, we are developing a complete EV ecosystem, from batteries to charging, supporting our net zero transformation.”

As part of the technical collaboration, Wykes Engineering and JLR have achieved “seamless integration”, with no need for additional manufacturing steps or the removal of battery modules.

The batteries are removed from the Jaguar I-PACE and slotted into racks in the containers on-site, helping to maximise the sustainability of the project.

David Wykes, managing director of Wykes Engineering, said: “One of the major benefits of the system we’ve developed is that the containers are connected to the Grid in such a way that they can absorb solar energy, that could otherwise be lost when the grid reaches capacity.

“This excess energy can now be stored in the second life I-PACE batteries and discharged later. This allows us to ‘overplant’ the solar park and maximise the amount of power we generate for the area of land we are using.”