Element Energy’s repurposed EV battery project is now operational

Element Energy announced the successful energization of the world’s largest second-life, grid-connected battery installation. The 53MWh storage project, made up of Element Energy’s retooled electric vehicle batteries, has been operating commercially, storing and dispatching power to the ERCOT grid, since May 2024.

By applying its advanced hardware and software honed in the semiconductor industry, Element Energy enabled the reuse of 900 EV batteries to make up the 53MWh, grid-connected energy storage system. Element Energy’s technology has immediate and significant impacts for the growing global battery market.

Dr. Tony Stratakos, CEO and co-founder, Element Energy, says, “We’re thrilled that our technology completes the circular supply chain for energy storage, while also making batteries safer. With our commercial project in West Central Texas, we have validated our technology at scale. We are now focused on deploying our growing supply of second-life batteries. Thank you to the Energy Department and our customer for their support and trust in this major project.”

In 2022, Element Energy received $7.9 million in funding from the U.S. Department of Energy to complete its 53MWh commercial project. The funding was provided from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law to support technologies and processes for second-life battery applications.

Element Energy has received and screened nearly 2GWh of second-life batteries and will deploy the batteries for grid-scale projects. For the 2GWh of batteries that Element Energy has already procured, approximately 8,500 metric tons of post-recycling waste and 150 metric tons of carbon dioxide can be avoided by reusing instead of recycling batteries.

Earlier this year, Element Energy announced it had raised $111 million in capital comprised of a $73 million Series B equity investment and a $38 million debt facility provided by Keyframe Capital Partners, L.P.