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Read the rest of this articleChevrolet Volt batteries may be recycled into next gen smart grids
Nothing is certain yet, but GM is exploring options when it comes to the lithium-ion batteries packed into the 2010 Chevrolet Volts. Each battery is capable of holding up to 16-kWh of electricity and creating some sort of shelter and connectivity to the grid for those would provide large scale energy storage.
GM warrantees the battery in the Volt for 8 years, so drivers certainly don’t need to worry about that part going bad for a large part of the vehicle’s lifespan. But eventually cars break down, and lithium-ion batteries take a long time to decompose – consequently GM is seeking to extend the product lifecycle of its batteries beyond the car.
To that end, GM has entered a “memorandum of understanding” with ABB Group, which is exploring how the lithium-ion batteries could link up with the existing electrical grid to effectively store energy and feed it back during peak usage times. That’s according to its press release. Think of a hot summer day where everyone is blasting air conditioning to keep cool, in that circumstance pulling stored energy from a stack of large batteries certainly sounds alluring.
Beyond the potential for a more efficient smart grid in the future, this is also a signal from GM that it’s taking the environment seriously. Considering the customer segment that the Chevrolet Volt appeals to, somewhat wealthy (at least right now) eco-conscious drivers, that makes sense. This speaks to a company thinking forward to how disposal of their product will impact the environment. More companies should follow this lead, is it will only lead to good things.
A similar opportunity exists for mobile phone manufacturers who ship millions of phones, most of which also contain lithium-ion batteries. While some companies offer recycling programs to help consumers easily transition from one device to another, many phones are still ending up in landfills. Cheers to GM for foreseeing this issue with the Chevrolet Volt and working pro-actively to address it now.
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Re-Using the Same Battery Pack - a possible good idea, but maybe - the Owner of the Volt should have first right of Refusal - or meaning - the first right of acceptance of keeping the used battery - in his home/Garage, in a spcial box for online energy storage for his home.
Consider - the Volt Pack is actually rated at 16 kWh, about 50% to 75% of a common house's daily energy usage. At end of life - a 'Dead' battery is considered to only having 80% of it's spec rating in deliverable energy storage capacity - or about 12.5 kWh (Technically 12.8, but I rounded down), so that means about 6-10 hours worth of back up power in the house. If the Pack had installed in that 'Box' in the Garage, a 'Smart' controller that charged the battery at off-peak times and rates, the owner could choose between selling watt hours to the grid, or just not using watt hours from the grid for his own peak needs!
Eather way - less load then on the grid at peak times, a bit more at off peak, and - with a 2-5 kWh Solar PV system roof installed, could combine the best of both worlds - flattening his grid demand, and boosting grid support.
Since the car is first coming in California, where they already have a goal of 1 million roofs with Solar, this idea could be best served at the Solar roof/EV Drivers locations. and for those who use the Volt, but live in some apartment arrangement, where they have no Garage, but the Apartment facility gives them a Charge point, they could 'Sell' the pack to the Apparment Complex, for thme to do as above, or to the local Utility that they select, if they are on board with this plan!
Ulimate disposal of this pack could be delayed until it was only able to hold a 20% charge (about 3 kwh) before final disassembly and recycling. Users of the Pack in a Grid Connected Application could get a roylaty payment - similar to the tax credits, or grants for Volt buyers, such that the benefits of Grid Load Leveling are valued at a rate something like solar energy generated Electricity is credited or bought from home solar roofs. this could mean - the Volt Owner, Get's a credit at purchase, and when his pack is replaced, to help offset replacement cost, the Utility is in effect buying the old pack from him, at a prorated discounted price, such that his replacement costs could be just 50% - 80% of Pack List Price, depending on ongoaing energy storage valuations by the Utility company.
Good article, but I enjoyed reading Electricman's comment more than the writer's and I do very much agree that the Volt's owner has every right to refuse first before going for the offer.
The number of phones going into the landfills is a matter of great concern and worst still so many of these discarded cell phones still have the battery intact!! Imagine the capacity of toxic built up these phones are going to cause. I'm glad Sprint has introduced the buy back policy and in my venture to do my bit towards the green campaign I see myself buying products from such companies only. Rest of the companies should also follow a buy back method, it is time the corporate world stopped thinking only about the market figures and became socially responsible towards the consumers.