GM Plans Secondary Use for Lithium-ion Batteries

General Motors Co. is developing a post-vehicle application for lithium-ion batteries used in its Chevrolet Volt plug-in hybrid car and future electrified models. The company will detail its plans next week at the Advanced Automotive Battery Conference in Detroit.

Lithium-ion batteries are expensive to recycle, but they can have as much as 70% of their capacity left at the end of a typical vehicle's driving life. As a result, automakers are looking for secondary uses for the batteries.

GM demonstrated a potential secondary application for lithium-ion batteries in 2012. Working with Switzerland's ABB Group, the company repackaged five used Volt batteries into a modular unit capable of generating 25 kW of power and 50 kWh of energy, which GM says would satisfy the electricity needs of as many as five average American homes for two hours.

Nissan Motor Co. also is working with ABB to develop secondary uses for the lithium-ion batteries used in its all-electric Leaf small car.

Earlier this year both Daimler AG and Tesla Motors Inc. announced their own plans to market lithium-ion batteries for stationary energy storage. These will be stand-alone businesses that develop and produce batteries for nonautomotive applications, rather than repurposing used in-vehicle systems.