DOE awards Moment Energy $20.3M to repurpose used EV batteries for energy storage systems | Utility Dive

Nov 07, 2024

Moment plans to break ground early next year on a 1-GWh Texas factory, which would be “the first UL1974 Certified manufacturing facility in the U.S. dedicated to repurposing EV batteries,” it said.

British Columbia-based Moment’s award is part of nearly $430 million in DOE funding announced last month for clean energy projects in communities historically reliant on the coal industry.

Two other energy storage projects were included in the award round: $9.8 million to Sparkz for a first-of-its-kind battery-grade iron phosphate plant in West Virginia and $24.9 million to Anthro Energy to retrofit a Kentucky factory to produce advanced lithium-ion battery electrolytes.

The DOE grant will help Moment produce 1 GWh of repurposed batteries each year when the planned Texas factory is operating at full capacity, helping it serve Mercedes Benz Energy and other automotive clients, the company said.

Moment’s approach is an alternative to recycling end-of-life EV batteries, which contain a mix of relatively valuable materials like nickel and cobalt alongside lower-value metals and plastics, Massachusetts Institute of Technology Climate and Sustainability Consortium Co-Director Elsa Olivetti told MIT Climate last year.

EV battery recycling is further complicated by non-standard battery configurations and cell shapes, necessitating a more intense and potentially dangerous dismantling process, Olivetti said.

The majority of EV batteries retain 80% of their original capacity at retirement, Moment Energy co-founder Sumreen Rattan told KUT News.

That’s more than enough for “a perfectly usable battery for several more years,” Natural Resources Defense Council advocate Jordan Brinn told Utility Dive last year.

Moment’s deployments to date have been relatively small-scale battery systems to support residential and commercial microgrids, according to its website. But the Texas factory will help the company develop batteries for a wider range of customers, including nearby equipment manufacturers and businesses looking to install EV chargers onsite, Rattan said.

The company’s proprietary battery energy storage system, known as Flora, can also support energy storage and resiliency needs for office buildings, healthcare facilities, data centers and mining sites, the company says.

Moment plans to expand its existing British Columbia manufacturing plant as well, Moment co-founder and CEO Edward Chiang told BIV News last month. Moment researches, builds and tests energy storage systems made from repurposed EV batteries at the facility, where it plans to roughly double its headcount to about 80 employees, BIV News said.

The company’s Texas factory will be located in fast-growing Williamson County, near Tesla’s Austin headquarters. The region leads Texas in EV adoption, according to 2023 vehicle registration data.

Moment is also developing “a proprietary AI management system that will enable all battery energy storage to become safer and longer lasting,” the company said.