New PEUGEOT E-208 GTi electric hot hatch revealed

More

BYD achieves best sales month of the year, overseas sales hit new high

More

Alpine A390 electric sport SUV revealed

More

All-new Nissan MICRA now fully-electric, on sale late 2025

More

Truemag

  • Electric Car News
  • Electric Car Reviews
  • Plug-in Hybrids
  • Technology
  • Home
  • About Us
  • Privacy Policy
  • Advertise
  • Charging Map

Used Volt Batteries Help Power New IT Building

What happens to the batteries that power Chevrolet Volt extended-range electric cars when their useful life is done? Five of them are helping keep the lights on at the new General Motors Enterprise Data Center at its Milford Proving Ground.

Repurposed scrap Volt battery covers already star in a variety of applications, from bat houses to nesting boxes for endangered duck species. Now, as Chevrolet closes on the second-generation Volt for 2016, it’s time to begin tapping the energy left in batteries from first-generation models.

Because the Volt typically draws its power from a band of energy in the battery pack, there is a lot of leftover juice for stationary use. A new solar array and two wind turbines feed the administration building’s circuit breaker panel, where the five Volt batteries work in parallel to supply power to the building, delivering net-zero energy use on an annual basis.

“Even after the battery has reached the end of its useful life in a Chevrolet Volt, up to 80 percent of its storage capacity remains,” said Pablo Valencia, senior manager, Battery Life Cycle Management. “This secondary use application extends its life, while delivering waste reduction and economic benefits on an industrial scale.”

The batteries also can provide back-up power to the building for four hours in the event of an outage and stores it when it’s unneeded. Excess energy is sent back to the grid that supplies the Milford campus.

The 74-kilowatt ground-mount solar array coupled with the two 2kW wind turbines generate enough power to provide all of the energy needs for the office building and lighting for the adjacent parking lot. Together, these renewable sources generate approximately 100 MWh of energy annually, roughly equivalent to the energy used by 12 average households.

The secondary application is being used as a living lab to understand how the battery redistributes energy at this scale. And the company is working with partners to validate and test systems for other commercial and non-commercial uses.

“This system is ideal for commercial use because a business can derive full functionality from an existing battery while reducing upfront costs through this reuse,” Valencia said.
used-volt-batteries

Jun 16, 2015Blagojce Krivevski
Tajima Rimac E-Runner Concept_One On The Dyno-VideoMINI Plant Oxford Showcases Pioneering Street Lighting System With Integrated EV Charging
You Might Also Like
 
Infographic: California has invested $559M in zero-emission vehicles since 2013
 
Infographic Shows Rise of Electric Car Charging
Blagojce Krivevski

Blagojce Krivevski is physicist and green technology lover. Keep in touch with Blagojce through his email, web site, Twitter, Linkedin, Facebook and Google+.

June 16, 2015 Electric Car News2016 Chevrolet volt, 2016 Volt, Chevrolet Volt, Infographic, used Chevrolet volt batteries, used chevy volt batteries, Used volt batteries, Volt
Follow Us
  • facebook
  • twitter
  • google-news
  • linkedin
  • youtube
  • instagram
  • pinterest
  • rss
Recent News
New PEUGEOT E-208 GTi electric hot hatch revealed
June 14, 2025
Tritium Launches TRI-FLEX EV Charging Platform in Europe
June 14, 2025
TOYOTA GAZOO Racing unveils hydrogen-fueled “GR LH2 Racing Concept” at Le Mans
June 13, 2025
WeaveGrid and Rivian Partner On Advanced Grid-Integrated Charging Solutions
June 13, 2025
Global EV sales up 24% in May
June 13, 2025
About
ElectricCarsReport.com ElectricCarsReport.com is a website dedicated to pure electric vehicles and the full range of consumer information and tools about electric cars, green technology energy, and the environment.
Latest News
New PEUGEOT E-208 GTi electric hot hatch revealed
June 14, 2025
Tritium Launches TRI-FLEX EV Charging Platform in Europe
June 14, 2025
TOYOTA GAZOO Racing unveils hydrogen-fueled “GR LH2 Racing Concept” at Le Mans
June 13, 2025
Get in touch

Email: [email protected]

Get new stories by email:
Archives
  • facebook
  • twitter
  • google-news
  • linkedin
  • youtube
  • instagram
  • pinterest
  • rss
DMCA.com
© ElectricCarsReport.com | All Rights Reserved.