Chevy Volt Batteries Keep On Giving

What happens to the batteries that run electric cars when they no longer have the ability to maintain enough of a charge to power the car? General Motors has found a unique repurposing for them: They’re using five old batteries from the Chevy Volt extended-range electric vehicle to keep things lit up in their new Enterprise Data Center at their Milford Proving Grounds.

The Volt isn’t typically able to fully “use up” the batteries that operates them, because they only pull energy from a small band of the available energy within the battery pack. This leaves a significant amount of usable energy left over in the battery. Now however, these “used” Volt batteries are connected in parallel with a solar and wind setup, providing for every bit of the Center’s energy needs.

Pablo Valencia, Senior Manager of Battery Life Cycle Management, tells us that the batteries used in the Volt retain as much as 80 percent of their storage capacity after they are no longer viable to be used in the Volt. “They took a page from my book: I use old deep-cycle batteries to provide short-term emergency power for lighting and my computer. Recycle, reduce, re-use delivers rewards.” Not only is GM contributing to helping our environment by not adding to landfills, they’re also seeing a cost reduction through not having to pay for grid-supplied electricity.

Valencia tells us they are currently using the system to help them understand how energy is redistributed by the battery. Work is also being done with partners to see if this type of system is feasible for commercial and private use. Pablo says that so far, they have validated that this system is ideal for commercial use, because they are able to reduce upfront costs by reusing the Volt batteries. The Volt battery system is also responsible for the data center receiving LEED Gold certificate status from the U.S. Green Building Council.