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The uncovered Gen 2 Chevrolet Volt Battery on display Tuesday, March 24, 2015 at the GM Global Battery Systems Lab in Warren, Michigan
Steve Fecht for General Motors
The uncovered Gen 2 Chevrolet Volt Battery on display Tuesday, March 24, 2015 at the GM Global Battery Systems Lab in Warren, Michigan.
Steve Fecht for General Motors
The uncovered Gen 2 Chevrolet Volt Battery on display Tuesday, March 24, 2015 at the GM Global Battery Systems Lab in Warren, Michigan.
Steve Fecht for General Motors
The uncovered Gen 2 Chevrolet Volt Battery on display Tuesday, March 24, 2015 at the GM Global Battery Systems Lab in Warren, Michigan
Steve Fecht for General Motors
The uncovered Gen 1 Chevrolet Volt Battery on display Tuesday, March 24, 2015 at the GM Global Battery Systems Lab in Warren, Michigan.
Steve Fecht for General Motors
The uncovered Gen 2 Chevrolet Volt Battery (left) and Gen 1 Chevrolet Volt Battery on display Tuesday, March 24, 2015 at the GM Global Battery Systems Lab in Warren, Michigan.
Steve Fecht for General Motors
The uncovered Gen 2 Chevrolet Volt Battery (front) and Gen 1 Chevrolet Volt Battery on display Tuesday, March 24, 2015 at the GM Global Battery Systems Lab in Warren, Michigan.
Steve Fecht for General Motors
The uncovered Gen 1 Chevrolet Volt Battery on display Tuesday, March 24, 2015 at the GM Global Battery Systems Lab in Warren, Michigan.
Steve Fecht for General Motors
LG Chem Power, Inc. CEO Prabhakar Patil Tuesday, March 24, 2015 at the GM Global Battery Systems Lab in Warren, Michigan.
Steve Fecht for General Motors
General Motors Global Battery Systems Engineering Director Bill Wallace Tuesday, March 24, 2015 at the GM Global Battery Systems Lab in Warren, Michigan.
Steve Fecht for General Motors
General Motors Global Engineering Lead – Gen 2 Chevrolet Volt Battery System Michael Celotto discusses the differences between a Gen 2 Chevrolet Volt Battery Cell (left) and a Gen 1 Chevrolet Volt Battery Cell (right) Tuesday, March 24, 2015 at the GM Global Battery Systems Lab in Warren, Michigan.
Steve Fecht for General MotorsIn many cases, even after the battery in an EV is no longer suitable for powering a vehicle, it can still offer plenty of storage for other uses. General Motors will make an announcement about an application for these used batteries at the 2015 Advanced Automotive Battery Conference on June 16.
The timing for the presentation is interesting, given the recent unveiling of the Tesla Powerwall, but GM isn’t giving any specifics about its plans at this time. However, the company has been working for years to find these solutions in partnership with AAB Group and has been working with Duke University on this problem, as well.
GM is hardly alone in researching these forms of battery recycling. Toyota recently worked with Yellowstone National Park to install 208 used batteries from Camry Hybrids to power the the Lamar Buffalo Ranch, and it sells a similar product to dealers in Japan.
Discovering more uses for batteries is expected to be a big business in the coming years. According to research by IHS CERA obtained by Reuters, the energy storage market alone is forecasted to increase from $200 million in 2012 to $19 billion by 2017.
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