Porsche Using Old Taycan Batteries to Power Plant

Genius Solution

While electric vehicles have the potential to make a big impact on emissions in the future, there are also potential pitfalls in that regard - including, chiefly, what to do with all of those old, worn-out battery packs when they reach their end of life. While there are already several battery recycling centers out there working to fix that potential problem, it seems as if Porsche has a genius solution of its own - at least, when it comes to a bunch of batteries used in pre-production models. 

Photos: Porsche

Massive Array

Porsche's Leipzig plant now utilizes a massive battery storage system built from used Taycan batteries, which were taken from pre-series and works vehicles. Those 4,400 batteries now encompass nearly the length of two basketball courts, and provide power via a stationary energy storage system at the plant. 

Photos: Porsche

Second Life

The idea for this - which Porsche calls its "Second Life" concept - came from the automaker's Environmental and Energy Management unit, which was aiming for an adaptable power grid and a way to supply power to the plant in a more intelligent fashion. "Of course, this is about environmental aspects and the core issue of the energy supply," said Alwin Schmid, Head of Electrical Engineering at Porsche. "But it was also important to us to take a pioneering role with the storage system."

Photos: Porsche

Storage Solutions

“We wanted to create electricity storage capacities for the Leipzig plant in order to make the site even more economical and to increase its degree of self-sufficiency. So it was only logical to use batteries from Taycan preseries vehicles instead of recycling them,” explained Jonathan Dietrich, lead project manager for this battery storage initiative. “We hope to gain insights from the project in order to be able to equip other Porsche locations with similar systems and capabilities in the future. At the same time, we can utilize batteries from test cars that are no longer suitable for demanding use in the vehicle for a second useful deployment before their final recycling.”

Photos: Porsche

Flexible Operation

Altogether, these Taycan batteries can provide five megawatts of energy to the plant, with an energy content of 10 megawatt-hours. The unique storage system can be operated at up to a 20 percent overload for short periods of time, and amazingly enough, the batteries were repurposed for this use without any need for technical changes, according to Porsche. Ultimately, the system is expected to last more than ten years in operation, and individual modules can be replaced if needed over that time span. 

Photos: Porsche

Relying on the Sun

As for where the electricity for this storage system comes from, much of it is derived from the plant's solar systems, which have a peak output of 9.4 megawatts - making this a truly green setup. It's also ideal given the increased need for electricity at the plant due to its high-tech equipment, which places a lot of strain on the power grid in the entire area.

Photos: Porsche

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