JLR partners with Allye to develop mobile BESS using second-life batteries

Tata owned Jaguar-Land Rover announced it had partnered with energy storage start-up Allye Energy to create a mobile battery energy storage system (BESS) using repurposed batteries from the company's Range Rover cars.

Allye is a DeepTech start-up developing distributed energy storage by using batteries to feed electricity directly to the consumer. The JLR-Allye product consists of an Allye MAX BESS holding seven second-life Range Rover and Range Rover Sport PHEV battery packs slotted into customized racks.

In its release, JLR announced that each BESS could store 270kWh of energy at full capacity, "enough to power the average UK household for nearly a month", and that no additional processing is undertaken on the batteries. 

The company pointed out that the arrangement with Allye built on its previously-announced collaboration with Wykes Engineering, where second-life Jaguar I-PACE batteries are being used in one of the UK's largest energy storage systems.

The BESS is capable of charging up to nine Range Rover PHEVs at any one time. It is designed to be charged easily by being plugged into any CCS-capable vehicle charger, the same as JLR's existing PHEV and BEV products. The mobile BESS also boasts multi-input connectivity, allowing it to be connected to renewable power at fixed or off-grid sites, the company said.

JLR said the MAX BESS system can be used in place of diesel generators, for powering off-grid vehicle launches, events and vehicle tests in remote areas.

JLR's Engineering team is the first to utilise the new BESS, which will be used to provide zero emissions power during testing of the new Range Rover Electric vehicle, scheduled for launch later this year. JLR said the team would use the BESS to power over 1,000 hours of testing, saving more than 15,494 kg of CO2 -- the same as a passenger taking seven round-trip flights from London to New York. 

Francois Dossa, Executive Director, Strategy and Sustainability at JLR, said in a statement: "This battery innovation and partnership with Allye demonstrates the value we can create from repurposing and reusing batteries, such as from our Range Rover vehicles. We are creating new value from a used commodity that would otherwise go directly to recycling, keeping them in use for longer, and providing innovative renewable energy storage solutions."

Reuben Chorley, Director of Sustainable Industrial Operations at JLR, commented: "Developing second-life battery projects like this is crucial if we want to make sustainability real in JLR and drive us towards achieving our carbon net zero target by 2039."