Hyundai Motor Group said on the 10th that it will push a UBESS (used battery energy storage system) pilot project to repurpose batteries previously used in electric vehicles (EVs) as energy storage systems (ESS) in cooperation with LG Energy Solution(373220) and Wonik PNE(217820). At Hyundai Motor Group, Hyundai Motor(005380), Kia(000270), and Hyundai Engineering will take part.
This pilot project is the first case of using post-use battery packs from Hyundai Motor and Kia's dedicated EV platform "E-GMP" vehicles. The demonstration facility was built as a UBESS system with a total capacity of 200kWh.
This UBESS system is operated in conjunction with an EV fast charger, storing electricity in the UBESS during lower-rate hours and then charging EVs through the fast charger during higher-rate hours.
Hyundai Motor and Kia will promote technology verification and business model development to establish a system that can use post-use batteries safely and efficiently. LG Energy Solution will build the UBESS with the provided battery packs and verify system performance and safety based on its capabilities in battery diagnostics and operations.
Hyundai Engineering will review business feasibility and linkage with the electric vehicle charging infrastructure (EVC) rollout based on its experience operating EV charging infrastructure, and Wonik PNE will handle facility operation and technology verification based on its EV charger manufacturing technology and infrastructure-building capabilities.
The participating companies plan to comprehensively verify ▲ charge–discharge control algorithms ▲ system safety and reliability ▲ battery performance retention characteristics ▲ charging service quality and operational efficiency, and to validate the feasibility of reused post-use batteries and a battery circular economy in real business environments.
The participants also held a ceremony that day at the Wonik PNE Dongtan establishment in Hwaseong, Gyeonggi, to commemorate cooperation on the UBESS pilot based on EV post-use batteries. Attendees included Hwang Woong-tae, head of EV Energy Strategy at Hyundai Motor and Kia; Joo Seung-tak, head of EaaS business in the ESS division at LG Energy Solution; Lee Sang-hoon, head of asset planning at Hyundai Engineering; and Kim Cheol-ho, head of development/production at the charging business division of Wonik PNE, among others from each company.