Retired Waymo EV batteries will get a second life as grid storage
Like any other battery, electric vehicle batteries last only so long. Constant charging and even the weather can degrade the cells, which can lessen an EV’s range. For Waymo—which operates autonomous EVs that drive for hours at a time, providing a total of more than 500,000 paid trips a week—that means that “sometimes, our vehicles outlast our batteries,” says Adam Lenz, the company’s head of sustainability and environment. But even if that battery isn’t fit to power a car anymore, it can still store energy. And now, retired Waymo batteries will get a second life as grid storage, helping firm up electricity grids in the same areas where Waymo is active. [Photo: Awarded Goods Company] How EV batteries become storage Waymo batteries will be repurposed as part of a partnership between the autonomous car company and B2U Storage Solutions. Founded in 2019, that startup turns used EV batteries into battery storage systems for the electric grid. When an EV battery degrades, it affects how the vehicle charges, and also how much range it has. But even when a battery isn’t fit for automotive use anymore, “you can take the same batteries and run a lot less current through them, but still get a good bit of utility,” says B2U’s CEO, Freeman Hall. Freeman Hall, cofounder & CEO, B2U Storage Solutions [Photo: Awarded Goods Company] B2U takes the batteries as they come out of the vehicles, without separating any components, and slots them directly into its storage systems. The startup can fit between 24 and 54 EV battery packs into a cabinet, and each cabinet has a capacity of up to 2.5 megawatt-hours (mwh). “That’s half as much, maybe, as the competing new best systems,” Hall admits. “But it’s still pretty effective, and our cost position is attractive.” A battery storage project uses multiple cabinets; B2U’s project in Lancaster, California, for example, can store up to 28 mwh of power. [Photo: Awarded Goods Company] Years of more use Even though the EV batteries have