JSW MG Motor, Vision Mechatronics join hands to redefine EV batteries

JSW MG Motor India on Friday announced a collaboration with Vision Mechatronics for repurposing used electric vehicle batteries with a homegrown battery management system for second-life usage in large-scale energy storage.

The project with Vision Mechatronics, a technology company in the field of second-life batteries, will initially focus on a UPS backup solution and the first product has been deployed for an industrial facility in Pune to demonstrate the versatility and effectiveness of second-life EV batteries.

Under the collaboration, JSW MG Motor India will provide EV batteries that are no longer roadworthy, to Vision Mechatronics which in turn will repurpose it into a second-life large-scale energy storage application.

"With Vision Mechatronics we have done a 36 kilowatt UPS, which is going to be for industrial application...This one is using the cells of a battery which is not being used as such in the cars. It's perfect in terms of repurposing of the battery and so this also tells us that the life of the battery doesn't end when the car journey ends," JSW MG Motor India Chief Growth Officer, Gaurav Gupta told PTI.

He further said the launch of the project, a high-voltage second-life battery with an indigenous Battery Management System (BMS), "is indeed an innovation and makes us future-ready".

This initiative is expected to help many small and medium enterprises and companies which are looking for cost-effective sustainable energy storage solutions, he added.

Gupta said this is the company's third pilot project after off-grid charging station with IIT Delhi and Batx, and on a second pilot to deploy a 5kWh BESS in a Nainital school with Lohum and Teri.

These initiatives have been undertaken under the company's 'Project Revive' reiterating its responsibility of deploying innovative solutions to repurpose EV batteries, he added.

Vision Mechatronics Managing Director Rashi Gupta said the repurposed battery could go for various applications like UPS, a diesel engine generator replacement or a backup application.

Right now the focus is on "UPS because that's a low-hanging fruit", she said, adding in six months' time the applications could be widened.