Irizar e-mobility and public transport operator EMT Madrid together with Iberdrola, are working in a project for reusing electric batteries at the EMT operations centre in Fuencarral. A stationary type static storage system for electrical energy has been installed in those facilities that incorporates batteries that have reached the end of their first life.
Irizar e-mobility has been designing and manufacturing their own batteries, which are used on all their electric buses, for more than seven years. Batteries undergo daily recharging cycles, which gradually diminishes their storage capacity for use as drive batteries. That combination of elements makes it necessary to replace the batteries, depending on the degree of wear, to guarantee optimum levels of bus operation. "It was decided to use batteries in their second life in this project to back up charging EMT buses with the goal that they can be used as an element integrated into their smartcharging system in order to reduce power spikes and demand during usual battery charging times and optimize the charging process and lower the associated costs", as the press release issued by Irizar states.
The battery container where the "old" batteries are installed in, is charged in off-peak times "to optimise energy prices and thus lower energy costs and increase the use of green energy, has a maximum storage power and energy of 1 MWh and 500 kW for charging and discharging, respectively, and it has fifteen racks of batteries removed from three vehicles". Charging is managed through the EMT smartcharging system. Extending the useful life of batteries means reducing the need to manufacture new ones, thus decreasing the use of certain raw materials and obtaining the consequent reduction in their environmental and social impact. This project has been developed in the framework of the PERTE VEC (CAPITAL) programme.