Batteries used in Irizar electric buses and coaches are to be given a second life as part of a new collaboration.
The new partnership between the Spanish manufacturer and electric mobility company Ibil will see the batteries reused as energy storage elements in charging facilities Ibil is developing and deploying at Repsol service stations and others.
Irizar says the useful life of batteries can reach 15 years for urban electric buses, because they are charged daily and at high power. After that time has passed, it says the accumulators need to be replaced in order for the vehicle to maintain its original functionality. The end of the first life, however, does not mean that the batteries have lost all their charging capacity. So, rather than disposing of the batteries, sustainable reuse in charging station storage applications will be introduced. This will help to stabilise energy demands when vehicles are charged at high power.
