Volvo Buses is looking at a new concept that sees used electric bus batteries utilised to power apartment blocks.
The Swedish manufacturer has established an “energy warehouse” in Gothenburg using recycled lithium-ion bus batteries charged by solar panels.
Why use the old bus batteries? They say the application could solve the problem of what to do with batteries after use in on-road applications.
The research project sees the bus batteries get a second lease of life as solar energy storage units with a view to cutting the properties power consumption peaks, and to store or sell surplus solar energy.
“We know that electric bus batteries have good potential for other applications such as energy storage after the end of their life in public transport,” – Ylva Olofsson, Project Coordinator at Volvo.
“What we are examining here is exactly how good that potential is.
“Use of the batteries in an energy warehouse gives them an extended service life which in turn means better resource utilisation and less environmental impact.
“Here at Volvo we are examining various possibilities for the reuse of bus batteries for energy storage, and Viva is one such example.”
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