Terrepower launches EV battery repurposing effort

Terrepower has launched Ontility, a new brand focused on giving electric vehicle batteries a second life once they wear out. The company plans to set up battery lifecycle operations in Europe and North America that repair, restore, repurpose, and recycle EV batteries, working with vehicle owners, installers, fleets, and salvage operators. The company's stated goal is to put worn batteries back into vehicles whenever possible before considering other uses.

When a battery can't return to a car, it may get a second career as part of a stationary energy storage system that stores power for the electric grid. Terrepower pointed to a project in Texas, run by a company called B2U, where repurposed EV batteries are already helping supply power to the state's grid operator, ERCOT. Terrepower also runs solar panel recycling operations, so this move extends a similar reuse philosophy to EV batteries.

For homeowners, this doesn't change anything directly right now, but it's a sign of where the used-battery market is headed. As more EVs on the road start needing battery replacements or reach the end of their life, having companies set up to reuse or recycle those batteries could eventually affect the cost and availability of home battery storage systems, since some of that recycled material and repurposed hardware may end up in products used for home energy backup or solar storage.