Manufacturers of solar equipment and battery recyclers are working together to reuse used batteries in solar applications. This alliance intends to develop recycled batteries suitable for solar use on a greater scale. It is driven by the Union government’s incentives for rooftop solarization and concentration on EV laws.
Manufacturers of solar equipment and battery recyclers are collaborating to give old batteries a second chance at being used in solar applications. Recyclers informed ET that the partnership was made possible by the Center’s reaffirmed incentives for rooftop solarization and its ongoing emphasis on legislation about electric vehicles.
Co-founder of BatX Energies, a lithium-ion (Li-ion) battery recycler with headquarters in Bengaluru, Vikrant Singh, noted that most electric vehicle customers were concerned about the lower range of the drained batteries. For an electric vehicle (EV), the battery’s life ends when it reaches roughly 20% of its capacity. After that, we use that battery for stationary uses.
Although Singh stated that his company was in talks with solar providers to try and make these batteries fit solar use on a bigger scale, individuals with solar-powered homes may also utilize them.
Under the condition of anonymity, a solar panel manufacturer stated that his business was thinking of offering recycled electric vehicle batteries for storage, anticipating that the recent announcement from the Union government would increase sales in our industry.
Increased EV usage would also result in more readily available batteries resulting in a win-win scenario,” he said to ET.
The government unveiled a plan to use rooftop solarization to give one crore houses free electricity for up to 300 units per month in the Interim Union Budget this year. Households might save as much as Rs 15,000 to Rs 18,000 annually by selling the excess energy to DISCOMs, according to Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman.
Amitabh Kant, the G20 Sherpa for India in 2023, announced during the summit that by 2030, the country aims to have 65-70% of its buses electrified and all two- and three-wheelers electrified. A 2022 Niti Aayog research on the “Advanced Chemistry Cell Battery Reuse and Recycling Market in India” estimates that by 2030, EVs will account for about 46% of the lithium-ion batteries available for recycling in India.
Battery Waste Management Rules 2022 state that by 2026, ninety percent of the materials disposed of must be recovered and recycled, with twenty percent of those materials being used in new batteries by 2030. About 1600 gallons of water are needed to mine one kilogram of lithium for a battery. Getting the most usage possible out of it makes sense,” Singh remarked.