As the number of electric vehicles on the road increases, one question has loomed over this shift in automotive technology: what do you do with an EV battery that’s no longer up for the task of powering a car? Last year, U.S. News & World Report cited experts in the field in stating that EV batteries would last between 100,000 and 200,000 miles. That’s an understandable figure — but it’s also led to some industry leaders pondering what, if anything, can be done with a battery that’s reached the end of the road, both metaphorically and literally.
Vietnamese EV manufacturer VinFast has come up with their own answer to this question. As Reuters reports (via Autoblog), the company signed an agreement to recycle its used batteries with the Japanese company Marubeni. Earlier this year, Marubeni announced an investment in Cirba Solutions, a U.S.-based company that’s worked with the likes of Toyota on EV battery recycling.
As part of the deal, VinFast will send its old EV batteries to Marubeni, which will then use them to build new Battery Energy Storage Systems, a form of technology that’s proven to be useful in storing renewable energy.
This Former Tesla Executive Has a Plan for Recycling EV Batteries
This addresses one of the big questions for EV adoptionThe question of what to do with old EV batteries has remained a crucial one for many technological planners, especially those working in the automotive industry. Earlier this year, Nissan discussed using EV batteries as backup home generators. In May, Autoweek reported on a startup, B2U, which recycled EV batteries to store solar power.
The future is likely to involve both a considerable uptick in electric vehicles and renewable energy. If the same technology can be used for both, that could make that period of transition that much easier.
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