A battery storage system made with second life EV batteries has been developed by carmaker Toyota and Japanese utility company Tokyo Electric Power (TEPCO). The battery energy storage system (BESS) has been developed ahead of anticipated increases in global market demand for the technology, and will be installed at a wind farm in Japan where its operation and performance under real-world conditions will be evaluated.
The 1MW/3MWh BESS uses technology developed by Toyota specifically for controlling electric vehicle (EV) batteries as stationary storage units, and operating technology and safety standards developed by TEPCO.
Toyota said in a release that it expects the verification project to begin construction “around summer” this year, with verification tests to begin before the end of 2023.
Toyota and TEPCO aim to use the project towards the development of storage systems for consumer energy services applications such as backup and integrating onsite renewables generation, and balancing the supply and demand of electricity on the grid as the share of renewable energy grows.
The pair’s new BESS solution can be connected with power conversion systems (PCS) that exist on the market already today, and use multiple stacked battery units.
While details of where battery cells will come from for the installation were not given, Toyota Motors said it will work with two other companies in the Toyota Group, infrastructure and industrial development solutions company Toyota Tsusho and machinery manufacturer Toyota Industries, as well as automotive OEM Denso – in which Toyota has a 25% stake – in its second life repurposing activities.
The company said that evaluation of the new second life BESS will be conducted “over the next several years of operation”, at Eurus Energy Holdings Corporation’s (Eurus Energy’s) Tashirotai Wind Farm, a 7.650MW renewable energy power plant that itself went into operation in 2002.
Eurus Energy and its parent company – Toyota Tsusho – will carry out the installation, with Toyota, TEPCO, Eurus and Toyota Tsuho all playing an active role in the battery storage verification project.
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