Electrovaya Inc. (TSX; EFL) announced that it has signed a contract to develop, construct and demonstrate a utility sized stationary battery system using end of life Electric Vehicle battery packs. The repurposed batteries could be used to store electricity generated by renewable energy systems, such as wind and solar power. The stationary battery system will be implemented at the Manitoba HVDC Research Centre facility, a subsidiary of Manitoba Hydro. The University of Manitoba is also participating in this project. Major funding for this project comes from the Government of Canada’s Clean Energy Fund and Manitoba Hydro. This program is a part of an Electrovaya led $7.6 million project.
“By investing $3.36 million in the Electrovaya electricity storage project, our Government is demonstrating its commitment to position Canada at the forefront of clean energy technology,” said the Honourable Joe Oliver, Minister of Natural Resources. “This innovative project supports high quality jobs and encourages new technologies to help protect our environment for future generations.”
“We are delighted to work with Electrovaya on this project.” said Bob Brennan, CEO of Manitoba Hydro. “Using Electrovaya’s refurbished lithium ion batteries in this manner is an innovative and potential low cost energy storage solution. We believe that repurposed lithium ion battery technology has excellent potential for grid storage application. As well, the potential benefits of reducing diesel consumption in our Northern remote communities are very attractive to Manitoba Hydro.”
“This project will give us insight into the complete re-use of lithium ion batteries,” said Dr. Sankar Das Gupta, CEO, Electrovaya. “Our hope is that utilities will be able to take advantage of the significant number of the used batteries that will come into the market after the large scale introduction of plug-in electric vehicles.” “By making the end product reusable by utility companies, we address two problems. First, lithium ion batteries become an even more environmentally sustainable product. And two, we help utility companies make wind and solar energy generation as reliable as hydro, nuclear, and coal”.