The term ‘second life’, in the context of electric vehicle batteries, refers to their reuse after they have reached the end of their useful life in the vehicle.
Electric vehicle batteries may still have a certain degree of residual capacity after being removed from vehicles due to decreased performance or range, i.e. a second life. Instead of disposing of them as waste, these batteries can be used in other applications requiring less power or less range, such as energy support for energy storage systems, renewable energy sources or emergency power systems.
Reusing electric vehicle batteries in a second life can help extend their overall life and make the most of resources. This also reduces the need to extract new raw materials to produce completely new batteries, which has a positive impact on the environment.
However, when batteries reach the end of their second life and are no longer suitable for meaningful reuse, it is important to recycle them properly: the combination of second life and recycling of electric vehicle batteries helps maximise efficiency and reduce the environmental impact of electric propulsion systems.
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