JLR repurposes second-life PHEV batteries

JLR has partnered with energy storage start-up Allye Energy to create a Battery Energy Storage System (BESS) to provide power on the go.

A single Allye MAX BESS holds seven second-life Range Rover and Range Rover Sport PHEV battery packs removed from the vehicles and slotted into customised racks without unnecessary additional processing. 

Each BESS can store 270kWh of energy at total capacity, enough to power the average UK household for nearly a month.

The BESS, which is the first to use JLR’s second-life Range Rover batteries, can charge up to nine Range Rover PHEVs at any one time and is designed to be charged by plugging it into any CCS-capable Vehicle Charger using the same input as JLR’s existing PHEV and BEV product portfolio. In addition, multi-input connectivity via power lock connections enables it to be connected to renewable power at fixed or off-grid sites.

The MAX BESS can be used to replace diesel generators, historically relied on by the automotive industry, to power off-grid vehicle launches, events and tests in remote areas. JLR’s engineering team is the first to utilise the new BESS, providing zero-emissions power during testing the new Range Rover Electric, which will be launched later this year.

The average diesel generator would typically use 16L of fuel per hour, equivalent to 129.12kg of CO2 daily for three hours’ usage***. JLR’s Engineering team will use the BESS to power over 1000 hours of testing, saving more than 15,494kg of CO2 during a year – equivalent to one passenger taking seven round-trip flights from London to New York.

The BESS weighs less than 3.5 tonnes, making it fully portable or stationary to provide energy storage for retailers or JLR sites. The unit will also be commercially available for use outside of JLR.

JLR has invested £15bn into electrification by building a comprehensive EV ecosystem. This includes considering the entire lifecycle of EV batteries, one of the new circular business models it is exploring in energy storage and beyond.

One example of how the BESS is being used practically in the development of Range Rover Electric is through the Engineering team’s endurance testing at remote off-road sites where only low-power connections are available, which would only enable a slow charge. 

The engineers can top up the BESS from a low power supply during testing and then transfer the power to the Range Rover Electric via fast BESS charging much more quickly than directly charging the vehicle from the supply. This way allows the testing to be completed much quicker.

Battery value chains are predicted to grow 30% annually from 2022 to 2030, reaching more than $400 billion.  Second-life battery supply for stationary applications is expected to exceed 200 gigawatt-hours per year by 2030, creating a global value of more than $30 billion.

JLR’s batteries can be safely deployed in low-energy situations once their health falls below electric vehicle requirements, which typically leaves a 70-80% residual capacity.  Following these second-life use cases, JLR will recycle the batteries so that raw materials can be recovered for reuse as part of an actual circular economy. 

The BESS built by Allye marks the first time JLR has reused full Range Rover PHEV batteries for use in energy storage systems, a precursor to Range Rover BEV batteries, which have the same module structure.