Retired BMW batteries are already back at work in Malaysia, this time storing solar energy rather than powering cars.
BMW Group Malaysia and Universiti Malaya (UM) have installed a solar-powered smartphone charging station at the UM Central bus stop, marking the first completed real-world application under their second-life battery research programme.
The system uses lower-capacity battery packs that are still suitable for lighter stationary duties.
The project follows a partnership formalised on Jan 15 between BMW Group Malaysia and UM to study new uses for batteries removed from older electric vehicles (EVs) and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs).
BMW supplies the used batteries to UM’s Power Energy Dedicated Advanced Centre (UMPEDAC), where researchers assess their condition and residual capacity before building them into energy-storage systems.
A second application is being prepared for Pos Sinderut in Kuala Lipis, Pahang.
Higher-capacity battery packs will be used to store solar electricity and provide off-grid power to the Semai Orang Asli community. The planned system is intended to support basic household needs including lighting, fans and refrigerators.
The different applications show how batteries can be matched to jobs according to their remaining capacity.
Packs no longer suited to the demands of a vehicle can still have enough usable life for stationary energy storage before eventually being recycled.
The programme forms part of BMW Group Malaysia’s RE:Generate circularity initiative. It also brings together BMW technical specialists, UM researchers and students, with UM’s Sustainable Development Centre and Community Engagement Centre involved in developing campus and community applications.
The UM installation moves the work beyond laboratory testing. It provides the first working example of how batteries from BMW electrified vehicles can be reused locally, while the Pos Sinderut deployment will test the same principle on a more demanding scale in a community without conventional grid access.
