Skip to main content

EVgo adds second-life batteries to charging system

EVgo has added second-life BMW i3 batteries to its Union City fast-charging station in California to help store energy during peak solar hours and reduce strain on the grid. This energy is then used to deliver a fast charge to EVgo customers’ electric vehicles during periods of high demand. The second-life battery system integrates two BMW i3 battery packs into a single housing. Evgo says each battery pack has a capacity of 22kWh which combines with a 30kW inverter to offer a 30kW/44kWh energy storage
October 15, 2018 Read time: 1 min

8881 EVgo has added second-life BMW i3 batteries to its Union City fast-charging station in California to help store energy during peak solar hours and reduce strain on the grid. This energy is then used to deliver a fast charge to EVgo customers’ electric vehicles during periods of high demand.

The second-life battery system integrates two BMW i3 battery packs into a single housing.

Evgo says each battery pack has a capacity of 22kWh which combines with a 30kW inverter to offer a 30kW/44kWh energy storage system.

Princeton Power Systems provided the inverter hardware and integrated it with the battery packs. Meanwhile, technology company Kisensum developed software controls for the battery system and managed software integration.

The EVgo Union City site began operating earlier this summer and currently has two 50kW DC fast chargers.

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • Workzone safety with SRL’s Remos
    August 31, 2025
    Portable traffic signals have built-in radar sensors and CCTV cameras
  • Digital Light Processing transforms travel information
    July 19, 2012
    David Crawford investigates the potential of new projection technology. Fifty years on from its invention of the microchip, US company Texas Instruments (TI) has compressed the technology into a surface area of just 4.3mm. As such, it forms the heart of a new Pico Digital Light Processing (DLP) system that is set to transform travel information delivery for millions of users on the move - by making it projectable.
  • What happens to an electric car in a frontal crash?
    January 26, 2012
    At the Detroit Auto Show 2011, Volvo Cars is spotlighting the important issue of electric car safety in an unusual, but distinctive way. On the company's stand there is a Volvo C30 Electric that has undergone a frontal collision test at 40 mph (64 km/h).
  • Jeddah juggles transport needs of residents, pilgrims and tourists
    December 22, 2015
    Mass pilgrimages, new tourists and a growing population lead Jeddah to seek some smart transport solutions as David Crawford finds out. Rationalising traffic movement and public transport in a major Middle Eastern business and tourist centre that is also a gateway for millions of religious pilgrims every year is the challenge for the 20-year Jeddah Strategic Plan and the Jeddah Public Transport Programme (JPTP) it spawned. The latter is costed at US$8bn.