Battery packs previously used in buses are to have a second life as standalone grid balancing assets, installed by Connected Energy and Forsee Power. The two companies have signed a Partnership Agreement to jointly design and develop modular energy storage that will combine Connected Energy’s second life technology with Forsee Power’s ZEN 35 and ZEN 42 battery packs, which are deployed in about 1,500 electric buses in Europe.
The first 2.5MWh system is planned to be operational in the UK in the final quarter of 2025. The companies plan that it will be the first in a series of projects, each typically more than 25MWh, in the UK and France.
Matthew Lumsden, CEO of Connected Energy, said, “The availability of second life batteries is increasing rapidly and the best way to realise the value in them is through partnerships that span the value chain. By combining our expertise, we can deliver energy storage technology that delivers greater environmental and commercial benefits as the flow of batteries increases.”
Christophe Gurtner, Chairman & CEO of Forsee Power, noted that the company has equipped more than 4,200 buses with batteries. He said, “ we have and will have access to a significant number of batteries once they complete their first life. As a consequence, the potential is huge.”