Synetiq, Allye to turn salvaged EV batteries into energy storage

RB Global

08/01/2024 13:51

By Nick Carey
       LONDON, Jan 8 (Reuters) - Synetiq, the UK's largest
vehicle salvage company has partnered with Allye Energy to
provide salvaged electric vehicle battery packs for the startup
to use for energy storage systems, the two companies said on
Monday.
    Allye will test and buy EV packs from Synetiq, a unit of IAA
and part of Canada's RB Global  RBA.TO  group, to use in its 300
kilowatt hour (kWh) battery storage system - each one uses four
salvaged EV battery packs - which is enough to power a factory
or 50 homes for a day. Allye will lease those packs to
customers. 
    "At the moment, these battery packs are sat around in
containers, unloved and unwanted," Allye CEO Jonathan Carrier
told Reuters. "We're trying to change that." 
    Lacking access to data to assess EV battery pack damage
after accidents, insurers have been forced to write off
low-mileage electric cars. 
    As the EV battery recycling industry is in its infancy 
outside China, salvage companies such as Synetiq have had to
house a growing number of salvaged EV battery packs in
containers.
    In 2022 there were an estimated 40,000 nearly new battery
packs from salvaged EVs. That number will grow as EV sales rise.
    Reusing entire EV battery packs "will address a key
challenge in our industry," Synetiq CEO Tom Rumboll said in a
statement.    
    Using existing battery packs cuts CO2 emissions for the
storage systems by 60% versus new ones and can cut customers'
energy bills 50% by taking energy from the grid during off-peak
hours for use during peak demand, Allye's Carrier said. 
    As it ramps up, Allye hopes to use 5,000 packs a year in the
UK and to expand to other markets, he added.
    So far, Allye has raised a little under a million pounds
($1.3 million) and is seeking additional funds. 
($1 = 0.7873 pounds)

 (Reporting By Nick Carey; editing by Barbara Lewis)
 ((nick.carey@thomsonreuters.com; +44 7385 414 954;))