UK-based electronics innovators work on recyclable batteries
A pair of UK-based sustainable technology companies are partnering with a Nigerian supplier to transform the way automotive manufacturers recycle the batteries in electric vehicles once they have reached the end of life.
The two companies, In2tec and AceOn Group, have joined forces to enhance AceOn’s portable power generators and mini-grid systems so they may be used in remote locations without easy access to electricity, such as Nigeria and other places in Sub-Saharan Africa.
With the help of Liverpool John Moores University and Nevadic Solar, a supplier of solar products in Nigeria, along with funding from Innovate UK, the aim is to utilise batteries from electric vehicles that have reached the end of their life, to create interchangeable power packs providing electricity to remote locations.
Once removed from the electric vehicles, the batteries can be installed in AceOn’s new swappable power packs and can be used for portable, mobile, mini and stationary energy systems. The HIGHESS project will facilitate a steady supply of electricity to rural and unserved areas and reduce energy access gaps between rural and urban communities where inaccessibility to affordable electricity is one of the main drivers of poverty for over 600 million people.
In2tec’s part in the project is a bespoke Battery Management System (BMS), which is mounted to the battery pack and monitors the charge and how the battery can be discharged. Utilising In2tec’s patented ReUSE PCBA, the BMS can be completely recycled at the end of life or easily repaired should a single component fail on the PCBA itself using its ReCYCLE technology.
In2tec’s sustainable electronics solution, ReUSE and ReCYCLE, is a closed-loop process allowing manufacturers to remove components from existing electronics at the end of their useful life and reuse them.
The project’s vision is to rapidly accelerate access to affordable off-grid electricity from clean energy sources. This project taps into the expanding global mini-grid markets to offer affordable energy access for social mobility and inclusion in communities not served by main power grids.
