Jaguar Land Rover has partnered with Wykes Engineering, a leader in the renewable energy sector, to develop one of the largest energy storage systems in the UK to harness solar and wind power using second-life Jaguar I-Pace batteries.
A single Wykes Engineering BESS
utilises 30 second-life I-Pace batteries, and can store up to 2.5 MWh of
energy at full capacity. The batteries supplied have been taken from
prototype and engineering test vehicles, and JLR aims to supply enough
batteries to store a total of 7.5 MWh of energy - enough to power 750
homes for a day - by the end of 2023. After this point more containers
can be created to house additional second-life batteries removed from
used production vehicles in the future.
Each BESS, which is
linked to an advanced inverter to maximise efficiency and manage energy,
is capable of supplying power direct to the National Grid during peak
hours as well as drawing power out of the grid during off-peak hours to
store for future use.
Battery storage systems like this are
critical to decarbonising the grid, as they can deal with rapid peaks in
demand, and maximise solar and wind energy capture during sunny or
windy conditions for use when needed.
As part of the
technical collaboration, Wykes Engineering and JLR have achieved
seamless integration, with no need for additional manufacturing steps or
the removal of battery modules. The batteries are simply removed from
the Jaguar I-Pace and slotted into racks in the containers on-site,
helping to maximise the sustainability of the project.
The
partnership represents an important step in JLR’s adoption of circular
economy principles, part of the business’ strategy to achieve carbon net
zero by 2039.
Second-life battery supply for stationary
applications, like renewable energy storage, could exceed 200
gigawatt-hours per year by 2030, creating a global value over $30
billion. JLR’s batteries are engineered to the highest standards and can
therefore be deployed in low-energy situations once their health falls
below the stringent requirements of an electric vehicle, which typically
leaves a 70-80% residual capacity.
Reusing vehicle batteries
will create new circular economy business models for JLR in energy
storage and beyond. Once the battery health falls below the required
level for these second-life use cases, JLR will recycle the batteries so
that raw materials can be recovered for re-use as part of a true
circular economy.
