Global car makers have touted plans to re-use electric vehicle (EV) batteries when they lose power, but competition for battery packs and cell materials, and the appetite for affordable cars cast doubt on this part of the circular economy.
An array of start-ups offers second-life energy storage using old EV batteries.
But creating the viable industry envisioned by car makers such as Nissan would mean fighting off competition from recyclers, refurbishers and the needs of drivers squeezed by the cost-of-living crisis.
“The assumption that EV batteries are only going to last eight-to-10 years and then owners will swap them out is just not true,” Hans Eric Melin, founder of consultancy Circular Energy Storage, which tracks battery volumes and prices, said.
“It's going to be tricky to make second-life work.”
While a possible solution for buses, lorries and other commercial vehicles, it will take longer for batteries from passenger cars to be re-used at scale.
The second-life energy storage idea is in theory simple.
As EV batteries' capacity falls below 80 per cent to 85 per cent after eight-to-10 years of use, the theory goes, they will be repurposed to power buildings or even balance local and national energy grids.
Investors believing in the circular economy, where products and materials are repaired and re-used, have provided around $1 billion in funding to nearly 50 start-ups globally, according to Reuters calculations.
In addition, car makers from Mercedes to Nissan have set up their own second-life operations.
The problem is a lack of old EV batteries that shows no sign of easing.
The rising average age of fossil-fuel cars on the road – now a record 12.5 years in the US according to S&P Global Mobility – suggests many EVs will stay on the road for years to come even if their batteries are depleted.
“The 80 per cent threshold is an arbitrary number that does not reflect the real-life usage of EVs,” CES' Mr Melin said.
As EVs built a decade ago remain in use, Elmar Zimmerling, business development manager for automotive at German second-life battery start-up Fenecon, said there was “as good as no market for second-life batteries” at present, although he predicts a “tsunami” of batteries within the next five years.
Twice the price of new
Competition from outfits using EV batteries to power anything from fossil-fuel classic cars to boats pushed prices to $235 per kilowatt hour in late 2022, according to CES – around double the price major car makers pay for new batteries.
The long-range Tesla Model 3 has a 75KWh battery pack. At that rate, it would cost $17,625 on the used market.
Car and battery-makers increasingly offer energy storage systems using new batteries – from Tesla to the UK's AMTE Power and even Croatian electric sports car maker Rimac.
Although more energy- and therefore, carbon-intensive, recycling also presents another form of competition to re-use as demand for cell materials makes it economically compelling.
“The big question is, if you have pretty valuable raw materials in a battery and you ask, 'how can I get the most out of it?' the answer is recycling might be better,” said Thomas Becker, head of sustainability at BMW, which has a second-life battery storage facility at its Leipzig plant.
Demand surge
Demand for used batteries for storage is likely to soar as intermittent renewable energy takes on a bigger role.
By 2030 global battery capacity for grid storage could grow to 680 gigawatt-hours, from 16GWh at the end of 2021, the Paris-based International Energy Agency estimates.
Britain alone pays around £1 billion ($1.27 billion) annually to switch off wind farms when the grid does not need the power – there is no way yet to store it because of the battery shortage. It also often has to buy electricity from Europe when it has a shortfall.
US start-up Smartville has found a solution in buying packs from EVs written off by insurers. Because they cannot assess the extent and cost of even minor damage to EVs batteries, entire cars, often with almost 100 per cent battery capacity, have been scrapped.
Chief executive Antoni Tong estimates more than 1 GWh of salvaged batteries will hit that US market annually by 2026.
He said the company was trying to negotiate directly with insurers because refurbishers and overseas buyers often outbid it at salvage auctions for Tesla batteries.
Disappearing into the wild
The biggest issue is people keeping their vehicles longer. Jonathan Rivera, a resident of Coeur d'Alene, Idaho, illustrates the challenge.
Last September, he became the third owner of a used 2011 Nissan Leaf he bought for $3,750.
After 12 years' use, the electric car's driving range had fallen to 40 miles (64km) from 120 miles.
That was no problem for Rivera, who used it to commute 18 miles to work, forgoing the heater in the winter because it drained the battery.
He has just sold the car for $3,000 to pay down credit card debt, but wants another used EV.
“That car handled 90 per cent of my driving needs,” Mr Rivera said. “If treated right, it should last another five, six years.”
Even when their owners part with them, many cars simply disappear – in the UK, for instance, the figure is around 20 per cent – and are often sold overseas.
“A Nissan Leaf that's been in the wild for 10 years – there's very limited visibility into where even is that battery?” said Asad Hussain, a partner at Mobility Impact Partners, a private equity firm focused on transportation. “How do you get it back?”
Commercial vehicles provide the best hope thus far for second-life batteries, industry officials said.
London-based start-up Zenobe, for instance, teams up with bus companies wanting to go electric. They buy the buses, but Zenobe buys and manages the battery, then takes it for second-life energy storage.
Since 2017, Zenobe has raised around $1.2 billion in debt and equity funding. It owns 435 megawatt-hours of batteries in around 1,000 electric buses in the UK, Australia and New Zealand, which should grow to 3,000 buses by 2025.
Founder director Steven Meersman said once Britain's 40,000 buses all go electric, they will have 16 gigawatt-hours of batteries on board – about one third of Britain's peak demand in 2022.
“That's a gigafactory on wheels waiting to happen,” he said.
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
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PROFILE OF INVYGO
Started: 2018
Founders: Eslam Hussein and Pulkit Ganjoo
Based: Dubai
Sector: Transport
Size: 9 employees
Investment: $1,275,000
Investors: Class 5 Global, Equitrust, Gulf Islamic Investments, Kairos K50 and William Zeqiri
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
RESULTS
Women:
55kg brown-black belt: Amal Amjahid (BEL) bt Amanda Monteiro (BRA) via choke
62kg brown-black belt: Bianca Basilio (BRA) bt Ffion Davies (GBR) via referee’s decision (0-0, 2-2 adv)
70kg brown-black belt: Ana Carolina Vieira (BRA) bt Jessica Swanson (USA), 9-0
90kg brown-black belt: Angelica Galvao (USA) bt Marta Szarecka (POL) 8-2
Men:
62kg black belt: Joao Miyao (BRA) bt Wan Ki-chae (KOR), 7-2
69kg black belt: Paulo Miyao (BRA) bt Gianni Grippo (USA), 2-2 (1-0 adv)
77kg black belt: Espen Mathiesen (NOR) bt Jake Mackenzie (CAN)
85kg black belt: Isaque Braz (BRA) bt Faisal Al Ketbi (UAE), 2-0
94kg black belt: Felipe Pena (BRA) bt Adam Wardzinski (POL), 4-0
110kg black belt final: Erberth Santos (BRA) bt Lucio Rodrigues (GBR) via rear naked choke
Brief scoreline:
Burnley 3
Barnes 63', 70', Berg Gudmundsson 75'
Southampton 3
Man of the match
Ashley Barnes (Burnley)
RESULTS
Light Flyweight (48kg): Alua Balkibekova (KAZ) beat Gulasal Sultonalieva (UZB) by points 4-1.
Flyweight (51kg): Nazym Kyzaibay (KAZ) beat Mary Kom (IND) 3-2.
Bantamweight (54kg): Dina Zholaman (KAZ) beat Sitora Shogdarova (UZB) 3-2.
Featherweight (57kg): Sitora Turdibekova (UZB) beat Vladislava Kukhta (KAZ) 5-0.
Lightweight (60kg): Rimma Volossenko (KAZ) beat Huswatun Hasanah (INA) KO round-1.
Light Welterweight (64kg): Milana Safronova (KAZ) beat Lalbuatsaihi (IND) 3-2.
Welterweight (69kg): Valentina Khalzova (KAZ) beat Navbakhor Khamidova (UZB) 5-0
Middleweight (75kg): Pooja Rani (IND) beat Mavluda Movlonova (UZB) 5-0.
Light Heavyweight (81kg): Farida Sholtay (KAZ) beat Ruzmetova Sokhiba (UZB) 5-0.
Heavyweight (81 kg): Lazzat Kungeibayeva (KAZ) beat Anupama (IND) 3-2.
Infiniti QX80 specs
Engine: twin-turbocharged 3.5-liter V6
Power: 450hp
Torque: 700Nm
Price: From Dh450,000, Autograph model from Dh510,000
Available: Now
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%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EDirector%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Christopher%20McQuarrie%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EStars%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Tom%20Cruise%2C%20Hayley%20Atwell%2C%20Pom%20Klementieff%2C%20Simon%20Pegg%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ERating%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%204%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Tips to avoid getting scammed
1) Beware of cheques presented late on Thursday
2) Visit an RTA centre to change registration only after receiving payment
3) Be aware of people asking to test drive the car alone
4) Try not to close the sale at night
5) Don't be rushed into a sale
6) Call 901 if you see any suspicious behaviour
The more serious side of specialty coffee
While the taste of beans and freshness of roast is paramount to the specialty coffee scene, so is sustainability and workers’ rights.
The bulk of genuine specialty coffee companies aim to improve on these elements in every stage of production via direct relationships with farmers. For instance, Mokha 1450 on Al Wasl Road strives to work predominantly with women-owned and -operated coffee organisations, including female farmers in the Sabree mountains of Yemen.
Because, as the boutique’s owner, Garfield Kerr, points out: “women represent over 90 per cent of the coffee value chain, but are woefully underrepresented in less than 10 per cent of ownership and management throughout the global coffee industry.”
One of the UAE’s largest suppliers of green (meaning not-yet-roasted) beans, Raw Coffee, is a founding member of the Partnership of Gender Equity, which aims to empower female coffee farmers and harvesters.
Also, globally, many companies have found the perfect way to recycle old coffee grounds: they create the perfect fertile soil in which to grow mushrooms.
The burning issue
The internal combustion engine is facing a watershed moment – major manufacturer Volvo is to stop producing petroleum-powered vehicles by 2021 and countries in Europe, including the UK, have vowed to ban their sale before 2040. The National takes a look at the story of one of the most successful technologies of the last 100 years and how it has impacted life in the UAE.
Read part four: an affection for classic cars lives on
Read part three: the age of the electric vehicle begins
Read part one: how cars came to the UAE
Bugatti Chiron Super Sport - the specs:
Engine: 8.0-litre quad-turbo W16
Transmission: 7-speed DSG auto
Power: 1,600hp
Torque: 1,600Nm
0-100kph in 2.4seconds
0-200kph in 5.8 seconds
0-300kph in 12.1 seconds
Top speed: 440kph
Price: Dh13,200,000
Bugatti Chiron Pur Sport - the specs:
Engine: 8.0-litre quad-turbo W16
Transmission: 7-speed DSG auto
Power: 1,500hp
Torque: 1,600Nm
0-100kph in 2.3 seconds
0-200kph in 5.5 seconds
0-300kph in 11.8 seconds
Top speed: 350kph
Price: Dh13,600,000
Joker: Folie a Deux
Starring: Joaquin Phoenix, Lady Gaga, Brendan Gleeson
Director: Todd Phillips
Rating: 2/5
More from Neighbourhood Watch
Jawab Iteiqal
Director: Mohamed Sammy
Starring: Mohamed Ramadan, Ayad Nasaar, Mohamed Adel and Sabry Fawaz
2 stars
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Salah in numbers
€39 million: Liverpool agreed a fee, including add-ons, in the region of €39m (nearly Dh176m) to sign Salah from Roma last year. The exchange rate at the time meant that cost the Reds £34.3m - a bargain given his performances since.
13: The 25-year-old player was not a complete stranger to the Premier League when he arrived at Liverpool this summer. However, during his previous stint at Chelsea, he made just 13 Premier League appearances, seven of which were off the bench, and scored only twice.
57: It was in the 57th minute of his Liverpool bow when Salah opened his account for the Reds in the 3-3 draw with Watford back in August. The Egyptian prodded the ball over the line from close range after latching onto Roberto Firmino's attempted lob.
7: Salah's best scoring streak of the season occurred between an FA Cup tie against West Brom on January 27 and a Premier League win over Newcastle on March 3. He scored for seven games running in all competitions and struck twice against Tottenham.
3: This season Salah became the first player in Premier League history to win the player of the month award three times during a term. He was voted as the division's best player in November, February and March.
40: Salah joined Roger Hunt and Ian Rush as the only players in Liverpool's history to have scored 40 times in a single season when he headed home against Bournemouth at Anfield earlier this month.
30: The goal against Bournemouth ensured the Egyptian achieved another milestone in becoming the first African player to score 30 times across one Premier League campaign.
8: As well as his fine form in England, Salah has also scored eight times in the tournament phase of this season's Champions League. Only Real Madrid's Cristiano Ronaldo, with 15 to his credit, has found the net more often in the group stages and knockout rounds of Europe's premier club competition.
