According to forecasts by WirtschaftsWoche, Germany's three largest automakers will produce more than 1 million electric cars this year, and the trend is rising (source: WirtschaftsWoche, 2020).
Experts are therefore looking for sensible "2nd-life" applications for batteries from used and test vehicles to further improve the ecological footprint. In most cases, lithium-ion batteries are still very powerful and well suited for stationary use, even if they possibly no longer meet all the criteria for dynamic applications such as mobility.
Africa GreenTec, as a partner to industry, wants to use the innovation partnership to show how 2nd-life batteries can be usefully combined with its own Africa expertise. Access to electricity is the key to sustainable development and can set in motion a growth spiral with many positive knock-on effects. As a pioneer, Africa GreenTec has already been using high-quality lithium-ion storage in its Solartainer® to supply villages in sub-Saharan Africa with electricity since 2015. An intelligent power grid distributes the electricity via a PrePaid tariff system and enables data analysis and remote maintenance.
AUDI AG has now been won as a partner to use powerful batteries from electric vehicles with a high capacity for village electrification.