JSW MG Motor India and Vision Mechatronics announced their partnership to recycle used electric car batteries using an in-house battery management system for use in large-scale energy storage later in life.
The first product in the partnership with Vision Mechatronics, a technology company specializing in second-life batteries, has been installed for an industrial site in Pune to showcase the adaptability and efficiency of second-life EV batteries. The project’s initial focus will be on a UPS backup solution.
JSW MG Motor India and Vision Mechatronics have an agreement whereby the former will supply EV batteries that are no longer fit for use on public roads. The latter will utilize the batteries for a large-scale energy storage application.
“With Vision Mechatronics we have done a 36 kilowatt UPS, which is going to be for industrial application…This one makes use of battery cells that are not used in cars in the traditional sense. It’s great in terms of repurposing of the battery and so this also informs us that the life of the battery doesn’t end when the car travel ends,” JSW MG Motor India Chief Growth Officer, Gaurav Gupta told PTI.
The project’s introduction, he continued, “is indeed an innovation and makes us future-ready.” It is a high-voltage second-life battery with an in-house Battery Management System (BMS).
He continued, “Many small and medium-sized businesses and companies looking for affordable sustainable energy storage solutions are expected to benefit from this initiative.”
After an off-grid charging station with IIT Delhi and Batx and a second pilot project to install a 5kWh BESS in a Nainital school with Lohum and Teri, Gupta noted that this is the company’s third pilot project.
He said that these programs are part of the company’s ‘Project Revive’, which reiterates its obligation to implement creative ways to reuse EV batteries.
According to Rashi Gupta, Managing Director of Vision Mechatronics, the repurposed battery might be used for a backup application, a diesel engine generator replacement, or a UPS.
“Right now the focus is on UPS because that’s a low-hanging fruit,” she said, adding in six months’ time the applications might be broadened.
