German carmaker Porsche has unveiled a new 5MW/10MWh battery energy storage system (BESS) at its Leipzig factory that uses 4,400 second-life Porsche Taycan battery modules.
The iconic car company partnered with the University of Applied Sciences Zwickau to demonstrate the role that second-life electric vehicle (EV) batteries can be used once they pass the end of their vehicle service life.
This “Second Life” concept originated in Porsche’s Environmental and Energy Management unit and is based on a feasibility study conducted in collaboration with the university.
A total of 4,400 batteries were taken from pre-series and works Taycan models – which had previously been involved in the punishing everyday work of testing the Taycan – and divided into four battery containers with a cumulative capacity of 5MW and 10MWh.
Electricity for the new BESS is partly generated by Porsche Plant Leipzig’s own 9.4MW solar system and allows the battery system to reduce peak loads.
The project has allowed Porsche to combine a number of different goals, according to Alwin Schmid, manager of electrical engineering at Porsche, “including peak load capping, optimisation of self-consumption, and simultaneous participation in the energy market.”
The usage versatility of the project is believed to make the Porsche second-life BESS project unique in the field of industrial energy storage.
“Of course, this is about environmental aspects and the core issue of the energy supply,” said Schmid. “But it was also important to us to take a pioneering role with the storage system.”
Porsche expects that the new battery system will have a useful lifespan of over ten years, but individual battery modules can also be replaced if necessary.
“We wanted to create electricity storage capacities for the Leipzig plant in order to make the site even more economical and to increase its degree of self-sufficiency,” said Jonathan Dietrich, overall project manager for battery storage at Porsche.
“So it was only logical to use batteries from Taycan preseries vehicles instead of recycling them.
“We hope to gain insights from the project in order to be able to equip other Porsche locations with similar systems and capabilities in the future. At the same time, we can utilise batteries from test cars that are no longer suitable for demanding use in the vehicle for a second useful deployment before their final recycling.”
Joshua S. Hill is a Melbourne-based journalist who has been writing about climate change, clean technology, and electric vehicles for over 15 years. He has been reporting on electric vehicles and clean technologies for Renew Economy and The Driven since 2012. His preferred mode of transport is his feet.