Efficiency and profitability of second life automotive batteries for renewable sources power plants

Mobility electrification is considered among the main pillars for decarbonization of modern society, a crucial challenge in light of the ever growing impacts of human activities on Earth’s climate. The cost of batteries is a significant factor slowing down the diffusion of electric vehicles (EVs) and their disposal still presents open criticalities. On the other hand, to achieve larger shares of renewable electricity generation, installation of battery accumulators is needed to support production from non-programmable sources, such as free-flow hydroelectric plants or photovoltaic parks. Their realization with recycled modules coming from automotive application helps addressing the two issues altogether and represents a cheaper alternative to first life batteries. This article presents the experimental results of the installation of a large-scale storage system to improve the profitability of a free-flow hydraulic plant. The main novelty coming from the project is the application of a mix of second life and new modules, to compare their performance in the same operating environment. On-field behavior of the two subsystems has been used to analyze the respective profitability, in light of historic price trends and real production program of the free-flow hydraulic plant. The results show a faster return of investment for the second life subsystem. • Second life modules were successfully installed in large-scale at a power plant. • Forced ventilation is suitable for second life modules in stationary applications. • NP-RES power plants need energy storage to better match production to grid demand. • Second life modules have a ROI that is twice as fast compared to first life batteries. • BESSs are more profitable at hydroelectric plants than at photovoltaic parks.