Researchers at South Australia’s Flinders University have partnered with a range of industry groups to develop a commercially viable pathway for repurposing electric vehicle (EV) batteries that can no longer efficiently power cars.
Highlighted this week at the Flinders Factory of the Future Showcase and backed by a state government Green Industries SA grant, Flinders researchers are working with Mitsubishi Motors Australia and resource recovery firm ResourceCo to give a second life to older EV batteries as storage for homes, farms, and remote communities.
Every EV battery will eventually reach a state of charge that makes it inefficient to continue using as the car’s power source, but this doesn’t make it unsafe or unusable. And with increasingly more EVs being registered each year, there will come a time when the number of EV batteries being replaced creates a potential glut if a solution is not found to reuse or recycle them.
That’s what the researchers at Flinders University are aiming to address by developing a commercially viable pathway for repurposing these end-of-life batteries from electrified vehicles.
The project aims to establish a scalable pathway for second-life EV batteries by developing an automated manufacturing process that integrates with battery management systems, demonstrating prototypes in real-world applications.
In turn, the participating organisations aim to create a new industry for South Australia, one that aligns with the state’s potential of becoming a national hub for lithium-ion battery reuse and recycling.
Mitsubishi is one of a number of companies around the globe which has already demonstrated the value of repurposing electric vehicle batteries. In Japan, for example, second-life batteries have been repurposed in self-powered streetlights in the city of Osaka.
The project is one of 21 industry collaborations that were showcased at the$19 million Flinders Factory of the Future at the Tonsley Innovation District, built on the former Mitsubishi Motors Australia Limited assembly site to bring researchers, businesses, government, and students to solve manufacturing challenges and turn new technologies into commercial opportunities.
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