Repurposing deserves a place in the EV battery value chain because many packs still retain 70–80% of capacity at the automotive end of life. For ATFs, OEMs and battery owners, second-life energy storage can unlock further revenue, delay costly recycling until volumes improve, and keep batteries in the circular economy for longer before final material recovery.
Alexandre Charr, COO of Connected Energy, argues that repurposing should be treated as a core stage in the EV battery value chain, not a diversion from recycling. As growing volumes of end-of-life EV batteries begin to enter the market, he sets out why second-life applications can unlock further value for OEMs, battery owners and the wider vehicle recycling sector before materials are finally recovered.
The vehicle recycling sector has spent decades refining its approach to end-of-life vehicles: recovering materials, reducing waste, and continuously raising the bar on sustainability. But as the electric vehicle transition gathers pace, the batteries within them create both new challenges and a vital opportunity.
The wave of EV batteries is coming. The question is what happens to them next. The instinct may be to route them straight to recycling, but before they get there, many of those packs still have significant value to give.
Repurposing these batteries for energy storage before recycling provides a strategic opportunity. Understanding where repurposing sits in the battery lifecycle, and why the economics of both recycling and repurposing make collaboration the rational choice, is increasingly important for everyone in the end-of-life vehicle chain.
The economics of recycling – and why repurposing can help
Despite considerable investment and strong political support across Europe, battery recycling remains largely unprofitable at the current volumes. Analysis from the Advanced Propulsion Centre sets out the challenge starkly: hydrometallurgical recycling facilities require a minimum of 10,000 tonnes of feedstock annually just to reach break-even. In the absence of that volume, European recyclers are currently forced to charge a gate fee for accepting end-of-life batteries, reflecting economic uncertainties around black mass value and the limitations of the available feedstock pool.
Repurposing delays battery entry into the recycling stream until the economics are more favourable, while generating commercial returns for OEMs and battery owners that can help smooth the transition to profitable recycling at scale.
An end-of-life EV battery is not a depleted resource
When an EV battery reaches the end of its automotive life, it typically retains around 70–80% of its original capacity, making it well-suited to less demanding applications such as stationary energy storage. Connected Energy is doing exactly this – deploying retired battery packs into grid-scale systems that generate revenue through energy trading and behind-the-meter storage for industrial companies.
Two powerful trends are converging to create this window of opportunity. McKinsey & Company forecasts that second-life battery supply could exceed 200 GWh annually by 2030. At the same time, demand for energy storage could reach 183 GWh each year. Second-life batteries could therefore meet a substantial share of that global demand – shifting the economics of end-of-life batteries from disposal costs to sustained value.
When a pack completes its second life, typically after an additional eight to ten years of operation, it is passed to a recycling partner. Lithium, nickel, cobalt and manganese are recovered, just as they would have been from a pack taken directly from a vehicle. Nothing is removed from the circular economy. The difference is that a substantial period of additional value creation has occurred first.
OEMs are moving from theory to operational planning
How the automotive industry thinks about second life has shifted materially. Batteries are returning from the market, and recycling, at current volumes and economics, represents a cost liability rather than a revenue opportunity.
Connected Energy’s conversations with automotive manufacturers reflect a broadening recognition that second life needs to be integrated into lifecycle planning from the outset. An inflexion point is approaching. The first major wave of end-of-life EV batteries is not yet here, but 2026 will see the industry progressing steadily towards it.
There is also a significant near-term opportunity that lies entirely outside the end-of-life stream. Manufacturing overcapacity, after-sales stock and warranty replacement packs create a substantial pool of new or lightly used batteries, assets that neither OEMs nor vehicle recyclers are well-positioned to deploy independently.
The opportunity for the sector
For vehicle recovery specialists and recyclers, this is both practical and strategic. Those who manage access to batteries at the point of vehicle end-of-life are well positioned to determine where those packs go next – and to capture commercial value from that role. A partnership model, in which suitable packs are identified and passed to second-life operators before reaching the recycling stage, creates a revenue opportunity.
Not every pack will qualify. Damaged packs, packs with significantly degraded cell health, and those from vehicle types without an established second-life application will continue to route directly to recycling. But the packs now returning from early EV fleets represent a meaningful opportunity for operators who are ready to handle them differently. Connected Energy works with battery owners, fleet operators and vehicle recovery specialists to identify suitable packs for second-life applications, managing the battery through its entire second life to final recycling.
Repurposing and recycling are not competing responses to the end-of-life battery challenge. They are sequential stages in the same lifecycle.
For an industry whose purpose is to extract maximum value from a resource before it is finally spent, this is familiar territory. The question is whether we treat the battery as depleted when it leaves the vehicle or recognise that it still has considerably more to give.
Further Reading on ATF Professional
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Connected Energy to develop UK’s most advanced second-life EV battery testing facility
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UK’s largest used-EV battery study reveals 95% average battery health, as variance widens between older vehicles
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UK lithium-ion battery recycling: bridging the capability gap toward a circular future
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Best practices for handling lithium-ion batteries
