Posted on 24 Aug 2023
British carmaker Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) unveiled on Wednesday a new second-life battery energy storage system (BESS) project that will contribute to the UK’s power grid stabilisation, Kallanish reports.
Through a partnership with Wykes Engineering, JLR plans to supply batteries from prototype and engineering test vehicles to store 7.5 megawatt-hours of energy by year-end. The batteries are removed from the Jaguar I-PACE all-electric SUVs and slotted into racks in the containers on-site.
Each Wykes Engineering BESS uses 30 I-PACE batteries to store up to 2.5 MWh of renewable energy. The system is linked to an advanced inverter to maximise efficiency and manage energy. It can supply power directly to the national grid during peak hours or draw power out of the grid during off-peak hours to store for future use.
“Working together with industry-leading partners, we are developing a complete EV ecosystem, from batteries to charging, supporting our net-zero transformation,” comments François Dossa, director for strategy and sustainability at JLR.
The carmaker says reusing vehicle batteries will create new circular economy business models for the company in energy storage and beyond, critical for its carbon net zero target by 2039. Once the battery health falls below the required level for BESS application, JLR says it will recycle the batteries to recover critical materials and insert them back into new packs.
As the group ramps up its EV production across its brands, additional second-life batteries will be removed from used production vehicles. Scrap production from JLR’s parent company’s proposed gigafactory in the UK could potentially also be used in the partnership with Wykes.
Last March, JLR said it was developing a portable energy storage system with Pramac. The off-grid system features up to 125 kilowatt-hours of capacity and a type 2 EV charge connection with up to 22 kW AC to enable EV charging. The partnership seeks to produce an initial run of 200 units.
The Jaguar I-PACE is the only BEV in production by JLR. The first BEV model from the Lange Rover brand is expected to be a Range Rover vehicle in 2025.
Source:Kallanish
