German agency provides ‘second life’ to used EV batteries
By L�a PERNELLE
Aachen, Germany (AFP) Aug 21, 2025
A German firm is placing used electrical automobile batteries to new use by stacking them into fridge-size models that houses and companies can use to retailer their extra photo voltaic and wind vitality.
This week, the corporate Voltfang — which suggests “catching volts” — opened its first industrial web site in Aachen, close to the Belgian and Dutch borders.
With round 100 employees, Voltfang says it’s the largest facility of its form in Europe within the budding sector of refurbishing lithium-ion batteries.
Its CEO David Oudsandji hopes it should assist Europe’s largest financial system ween itself off fossil fuels and more and more depend on climate-friendly renewables.
Whereas wind generators now dot Germany’s countryside and photovoltaic panels are discovered on many rooftops, he says the nation nonetheless must construct up battery storage capability.
“We need to guarantee European sovereignty in vitality provide by enabling renewable vitality manufacturing by means of storage,” Oudsandji, 29, instructed AFP.
“We will generate huge quantities of electrical energy from photo voltaic and wind vitality, then retailer it in a decentralised means all throughout Germany and distribute it,” he mentioned.
“Which means the extra renewable vitality we use, the extra storage capability we deploy, the much less we want fossil fuel or oil.”
Inside the positioning, technicians obtain used EV batteries and check them to find out their remaining lifespans.
These nonetheless discovered to be in good situation are reconditioned for his or her “second life” and fitted inside cupboards the dimensions of huge fridges — successfully big energy banks for extra electrical energy.
Among the many first prospects is the low cost grocery store chain Aldi Nord, which desires to retailer energy from its rooftop photo voltaic panels for later use.
– Clear vitality push –
Voltfang, based in 2020 by three college engineering college students, goals to supply sufficient programs by 2030 to retailer a capability of 1 gigawatt-hour (GWh) of electrical energy per 12 months, sufficient for 300 houses.
It’s considered one of many small steps meant to assist Germany’s decades-old “Energiewende”, or vitality transition.
Final 12 months, renewables coated practically 60 p.c of electrical energy produced in Germany, and the goal is 80 p.c by 2030.
One drawback for photo voltaic and wind is what to do on days when the solar would not shine and the wind would not blow.
Such “darkish lulls”, most typical in winter, have at occasions compelled Germany to briefly import energy produced by French nuclear reactors or Polish coal vegetation.
To ensure a safe provide, conservative Chancellor Friedrich Merz’s authorities plans to construct round 20 new gas-fired energy vegetation by 2030.
The Greens and environmental teams have denounced this as a step backwards in German local weather coverage and concern the nation is not going to meets its objective of carbon neutrality by 2045.
– Round financial system –
Europe’s battery sector continues to be nascent however anticipated to develop quick.
“In our opinion, small-scale distributed vitality property resembling battery storage will play a serious position to create environment friendly vitality programs,” mentioned Marc Sauthoff of the enterprise consultancy Roland Berger.
The stationary storage market is rising exponentially in Germany: about six GWh of capability have been put in at end-2024, up from 2.5 GWh in 2022, he mentioned.
Voltfang hopes to be worthwhile by subsequent 12 months, Oudsandji mentioned, although he conceded there are hurdles.
For one factor, the availability of used EV batteries continues to be small, given that the majority automobiles have been on the street for just a few years.
Additionally, new batteries, produced primarily in China, have gotten extra environment friendly and cheaper, making it more durable to compete towards them with refurbished fashions.
Oudsandji acknowledged that testing and refurbishing outdated batteries “is extra advanced” than merely shopping for new ones.
“However the huge benefit is that it’s extra sustainable,” he mentioned. “It’s cheaper and permits us to create a round financial system, thus guaranteeing Europe’s independence in useful resource provide.”
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