Retired electric-vehicle batteries may find a second life storing electricity for homes, businesses, factories, and data centers. Although a battery with 70-80 percent of its original capacity can no longer reliably power a car, it can still hold enough energy to support a household or provide backup power. Reuse systems can store solar energy for later, supply electricity during outages, ease pressure on the grid, and lower bills by shifting consumption away from peak-price hours. European projects have already repurposed batteries in homes, factory forklifts, and a soccer arena; the U.S. market is expected to grow as millions of EV batteries age from the mid-2030s onward.
Several forces are making reuse more attractive in the United States: more homes have solar panels, new batteries are costly, outages are increasing, and data centers need large amounts of power. Start-ups and battery companies are developing storage systems, including installations for airports and data centers, while new producer-responsibility laws in Colorado and New Jersey may encourage collection and reuse. But the opportunity is not guaranteed to become a gold rush. Batteries may last longer than expected, removing them from vehicles can be difficult, and fires pose serious safety and liability concerns. For now, companies are targeting institutions and industrial sites rather than selling retired batteries directly to homeowners; do-it-yourself conversions remain possible but risky.
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