Ever wondered what happens to all those EV batteries? One company has found a use for them even after they run out of use — well, of course, to run electric vehicles again.
Ecobat Solutions, the Darlaston-based UK division of the American battery tech company has confirmed the opening of an on-site EV charging facility for its staff and visitors – and the power for the chargers comes from a not-so-unfamiliar source.
The company collects EV batteries, including end-of-life, damaged, defective and critical units, from all around the UK. Once on-site, batteries are analysed for health and discharged before re-engineering or recycling. This discharge process’s power is captured and deployed within the facility, including the new EV charging points.
Elliott Ethridge, Vice President of Global Sales at Ecobat Solutions, explains, “When we welcome customers to site, they are invited to charge their electric vehicles with energy derived from the very batteries we are recycling. Energy capture is an integrated part of our system and it’s yet another demonstration of circularity in action here at Ecobat.”
Such circularity of resources is typical of the approach at Ecobat Solutions, which has also begun the first-stage recycling of end-of-life battery cells and modules in the UK. This means that output fractions, which contain elements such as nickel, cobalt and lithium, can be returned to the supply chain in place of mined materials.
The Texas-headquartered company which has operations in the US, Europe, and South Africa employs over 85 people in the UK. Its EV battery diagnosis and disassembly centre opened in January 2021 and has already repaired, re-engineered or recycled more than 5500 batteries, in partnership with vehicle and equipment manufacturers.
According to Ecobat, circularity and sustainability are a defining part of what it does globally as a recycler. The company has recently published its 2022 Sustainability Report, showing its determination to provide both economic value and environmental and social value.
Ecobat’s said its “long-term approach includes setting targets and taking actionable steps that address global sustainability challenges, as well as reflecting on opportunities to improve through innovation and product development”.
