Canadian company Moment Energy has launched its Megafactory 1 facility in Vancouver, described as the world's largest electric vehicle battery recycling plant.
According to the company, the factory will convert used car batteries into stationary energy storage systems for power grids, industrial facilities, hospitals, and data centers.
Moment Energy CEO Edward Chiang stated, "The intention is to create infrastructure to support the demand for electricity."
He explained that the factory does not produce new batteries, but rather receives used batteries, examines their technical condition, safety, and remaining capacity. After diagnosis, suitable units are integrated into industrial energy storage systems.
As the number of electric cars increases, so does the number of batteries being removed from vehicles. This usually happens not because the battery has completely failed, but because its capacity has decreased. For a car, this means a reduced driving range, but these batteries often retain much of their original performance.
A 2023 study predicts that by 2030, approximately one million batteries will be decommissioned worldwide, and by 2040, this number will reach 1.9 million. According to estimates by the International Energy Agency, the total capacity of these batteries will reach 100-120 gigawatt-hours by the end of the decade, equivalent to current annual battery production.
Unlike a car, a stationary energy storage system doesn't need to provide a long driving range or withstand high loads. Its job is to store electricity during periods of low consumption and feed it back into the grid when demand rises. Therefore, even partially depleted batteries can operate efficiently for many more years.
The company believes that these systems represent a scalable solution to the problem of energy storage shortages in the near future.
According to the company's plan, by 2030 the factory will be able to recycle batteries with a total capacity of up to 1 gigawatt-hour per year, which is roughly equivalent to the batteries of 12,000 to 15,000 modern electric cars.
