Info Sheet: Electric Vehicle Battery Repurposing and Second Life

The Repurposing and Second Life Info Sheet highlights the opportunities for EV batteries retired from a vehicle when they are at about 80% capacity to have a second life for another 10+ years and addressing environmental justice concerns, providing energy storage for residences, microgrids, and charging stations. Repurposing a used EV battery involves four steps: (1) assessing the state of health of the battery, (2) evaluating battery viability for a second life, (3) deciding on a configuration, and (4) reassembling the battery pack in a new configuration, each described in detail in this infosheet. Key challenges to repurposing include a lack of standardization, failure to design for disassembly, difficult access to battery state of health information, lack of safety information, recycled content mandates, and proprietary technology.