The job of an EV battery is unforgiving. If its performance slips too far — say, lost acceleration or range — it's probably off to the recycling heap. That’s even though it may have plenty of usable life, if only for something less demanding than powering a vehicle.

Grid storage is theoretically a gentler job, involving slower discharging and more careful management. Still, repurposing isn’t easy. It requires dealing with a mishmash of various makes, models, and levels of quality. And it means competing against the falling price of new, purpose-built storage systems. 

But a few companies have said they’ve figured it out, including Redwood Materials, which supplied a second-life data center microgrid this year. 

So how does second-life storage on the grid actually work?

In this episode, Shayle talks to Colin Campbell, chief technology officer of battery recycler Redwood Materials. Colin explains how, in just the past year, the company has found cost-effective ways to repurpose batteries before recycling them. Shayle and Colin cover topics like:

What has changed to make repurposing profitable, including better software management and high-volume, low-cost supply

Why, for Redwood, second-life batteries only need a short lifespan to be worth it 

Why second-life systems are especially well-suited for long-duration storage

What it takes to compete with the falling prices of new LFP systems

Resources:

Latitude Media: Crusoe and Redwood Materials are powering a data center with old EV batteries

Latitude Media: Millions of EV batteries could retire on solar farms

Latitude Media: The challenging economics of battery recycling

Credits: Hosted by Shayle Kann. Produced and edited by Daniel Woldorff. Original music and engineering by Sean Marquand. Stephen Lacey is executive editor.

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