Battery Recycling and Second-Life Test Solutions

High-voltage EV packs may not be optimized for EV performance at their end of life, but they may have residual power and capability that is ideal for other applications. For example, the packs may be remanufactured into storage systems that can be used for EV charging. After the application is determined, the packs and its components will be tested again for performance, quality assurance and safety

As shown below in Figure 1, there are typical stages of testing conducted to determine whether a pack will be recycled, remanufactured, or repurposed for a second-life application, in which the battery pack will undergo another series of testing before the product is verified. To comprehensively determine the battery’s conditions, test applications will evaluate state of health (SOH), state of charge (SOC), direct current internal resistance (DCIR), and battery management system (BMS).

^{Figure 1: Typical stages of testing conducted to determine whether a pack will be recycled, remanufactured, or repurposed for a second-life application.}

The steps shown in Figure 1 are described in more detail below.

• Visual Inspection (100%)—Evaluate product interfaces, condition, etc. before further assembly continues.
• Condition Analysis—Test performance to determine the battery pack condition.
• Disassembly/Assembly—Take apart internal components to evaluate, prepare, and assemble for second-life application.
• Sorting and Grading—Identify at-risk components through testing SOH, SOC, state of electronics, etc.
• DCIR/OVC 100%—Batteries subjected to high current test pulses to measure internal resistance. Test checks for leakage.
• BMS Verification (100%)—Verify BMS communication and circuitry is functioning as expected.
• End of Life (EOL)—Functional verification and calibration of finished product.

After the packs and components are retested, they can be deployed in second life applications, such as redeployment in vehicles, recycling, vehicle storage systems, and v2x, v2h, and v2g.

^{Figure 2: A typical battery test product life cycle and key applications of recycled batteries}

NI’s regenerative battery test systems address the wide range of power battery modules and packs used in the electric vehicles and renewable energy storage industries. These battery test systems feature modular and scalable power to help you test a wide range of power levels with ease and flexible configuration.

The NHR-9300 High-Voltage DC Battery Pack Cycler and Emulator as well as the NHR-9200 Mid-Voltage DC Battery Module Cycler and Emulator provide modular and scalable power with flexible control and integration and easy setup and reconfiguration. Additionally, the NHR-9300 and NHR-9200 feature multiple layers of built-in safety, while the NHR-4800 boasts exceptional versatility and a compact design, delivering impressive high-power performance within its 4U chassis.

For second-life purposes, these systems are ideal for the following applications:

• Repair, remanufacturing, refurbishing for redeployment
• Reuse in second life deployment
• Recycling EOL batteries

^{Figure 3: NHR-9300 and NHR-9200 cabinets}

• Learn more about all NI’s high-power test systems
• Learn more about selecting a battery cycler