Fast-rising electric vehicle demand in Europe -- where EV sales have risen more than 30 percent this year -- is putting increased emphasis on the secondary market for the most valuable commodity in the vehicles: the battery packs.
From a sustainability perspective, repurposing represents a fundamental step in creating a circular economy for EV batteries. What role recycling of components will play still needs to be determined.
A report from Circular Energy Storage projects the market for second-life batteries could reach $3 billion by 2025. That is down from a 2018 esimate of $4.2 billion.
The figures has gone down by more than $1 billion because Circular Energy Storage's research shows EV batteries are more durable and originally anticipated, founder Hans Eric Meli told Automotive News Europe in an email.
He noted that very few batteries have lived a full life cycle in an EV. As a result, prices for second-life batteries can vary from $40 per kilowatt hour to more $100/kWh.
While the potential value of second-life batteries remains a moving target, it is also unclear how automakers will tap into that revenue stream. Therefore, a wide range of options are being explored
In 2021, Nissan announced its ambition to make operations and product life cycles carbon neutral by 2050. The latter includes raw materials extraction, manufacturing, use as well as the recycling or reuse of end-of-life vehicles.
"Taking the wider energy ecosystem in mind, batteries from EVs can play a powerful role in storing energy generated by renewables in domestic and commercial systems," Friederike Kienitz, Nissan's senior vice president of sustainability, corporate governance, legal, external affairs and communications for Europe, Africa, India and the Middle East, said in email.