Ford EV Batteries Live Second Lives As Power Generators

December 15, 2023 9:50 am

In recent years, Ford has made it a point to invest heavily in the battery supply chain, chiefly through a company called Redwood Materials, which has already begun recycling end-of-life Ford EV batteries, along with another company called Everledger. The benefits of such a process are plentiful – recycling Ford EV batteries helps reduce reliance on raw materials from other countries while also eliminating waste that may otherwise go to a landfill, all while saving money, to boot. However, aside from recycling old EV batteries for use in new vehicles or those that are in need of a replacement pack, Ford is also exploring ways to use them as power generators, too.

“We are moving beyond research and development to work directly with business leaders and partners who are in critical need for the energy storage and recharging solutions our EV batteries can confidently supply,” said Marc Liskey, EV Customer Service Engineering Manager at Ford. “Our in-depth technical testing and research shows incredibly strong resiliency in EV battery functionality, providing us with essentially limitless potential to help provide energy solutions to businesses, communities, and consumers.”

Ford currently has several projects in the works exploring ways to use recycled EV batteries for things like onsite energy storage, emergency backup power for homes and businesses, and vehicle-to-vehicle charging. The project started with batteries from retired Focus Electric and Fusion/C-Max Energi models that now help power a variety of operations at a small scale, but has since expanded to other areas as well.

Currently, Ford has a number of projects in the works, including teaming up with a company called ATC to develop two portable generators that utilize Ford Mustang Mach-E array/modules for the aforementioned purposes, partnering with BBB Industries and TerrePower to harvested Mach-E batteries from totaled vehicles and use them to provide power for a manufacturing plant in Tennessee, and working with B2U Storage Solutions to use 30 Focus Electric battery packs to test battery storage solutions with a goal of providing energy back to the grid in times of peak usage.

We’ll have more on Ford EV battery recycling efforts soon, so be sure and subscribe to Ford Authority for 24/7 Ford news coverage.

By Brett Foote

Brett's lost track of all the Fords he's owned over the years and how much he's spent modifying them, but his current money pits include an S550 Mustang and 13th gen F-150.