Challenges of second-life concepts for retired electric vehicle batteries

Identifying the optimal way to process retired batteries has gained attention from academics and industry. High energy and power density requirements of electric vehicles (EVs) might cause batteries to be retired together with the vehicle that could still be used in other applications. Therefore, transferring batteries into “second-life” applications has the potential to optimize costs and resource utilization. The scope of this work is to give a perspective on challenges that hinder second-life business models. First, the battery life cycle is considered, showing potential costly phases that are necessary for second life applications. After this, requirements of typically discussed second-life applications and battery availability challenges are analyzed. Advanced battery diagnostics are necessary, and missing open standards for the exchange of design and status information are described. Exploiting the potential of a second life requires addressing challenges during the development process. Therefore, the last section describes challenges of developing multi-life battery systems. [Display omitted] Börner et al. present a perspective on the challenges associated with second use of retired electric vehicle batteries. The work focuses on the requirements to move from applications into commercially viable solutions, reaching from critical operational requirements of second-life applications to battery availability, open standards, and the complex multi-life battery development.