Melbourne-based startup Relectrify has been given $750,000 AUD from the federal government’s Clean Energy Innovation Fund to continue its work in developing a program to recycle electric vehicle batteries for installation as household energy storage. Another great step forward for energy storage technology!
Relectrify and EV battery lifespan
Relectrify was founded by Valentin Muenzel and Daniel Crowley in 2015 via the Melbourne Accelerator program at the University of Melbourne. Muenzel and Crowley realised that electric vehicle batteries unable to provide the range or power required for EVs would still be useful in other applications. On average, most batteries at this stage were, while unsuitable for EVs, still retaining up to 80% capacity and still had at least 2,000 full (charge/discharge) cycles remaining.
They’re also working with partners to create a flagship deep-cycle 12V battery known as the Powertrak, which is a 100Ah capacity upcycled automotive quality lithium phosphate battery with a 3-year warranty – click here to view the website or order a Powertrak.
“Batteries are becoming a fundamental building block of the new energy industry and seeing significant uptake across households, businesses and the power grid,” Muenzel said to the Herald Sun. “And this is just the beginning. There is an immense need for affordable and capable storage across almost all parts of our lives now and in the future.”
They created technology that allows batteries to be repurposed, so nonfunctional cells (each battery contains hundreds of individual cells) no longer result in the battery being deemed unusable. Rectify’s energy storage repurposing technology is low cost, boosts performance, and increases the longevity of the storage. You can click here to visit their homepage and learn more about the tech and their plans for the future.
Relectrify and the future
Although the market penetration of electric cars is currently only 0.2%, it’s projected to rise to 25% by 2035.
The Herald Sun is reporting that industry experts predict the batteries could be capable of storing around 15 gigawatt hours by 2035. This represents enough stored energy to power South Australia’s current summer peak demand for five hours.
Click play on the video below to watch a video about Relectrify and its role in providing a ‘second life’ for electric vehicle batteries!
