NSF Researchers Seek to Store Renewable Energy in Retired Electric Vehicle Batteries

NSF-funded research at Cornell University is finding ways to use retired electric vehicle batteries to store renewable energy. The team of researchers published their study, outlining specific ways to repurpose the lithium-ion batteries used in electric vehicles. The newly published research may change the way lithium-ion batteries are manufactured for electric vehicles, causing engineers to design and develop batteries with the intention of having a lifespan beyond their initial purpose.

The research was published in Science Advances and outlines how the old batteries, which can no longer store an adequate amount of energy to power a car, can instead be used to store wind and solar energy. Repurposing the old batteries will reduce their carbon footprint by 17% by expanding their use life-cycle.

Anticipating future use of these batteries beyond their initial 12-year lifespan powering electric vehicles will reduce the growing demand for facilities that are able to recycle the batteries. This newly published NSF-funded research hopes to encourage scientists and engineers to consider reuse cases in renewable energy storage to create a more environmentally friendly electric vehicle battery.