Applying Lithium-Ion Second Life Batteries for Off-Grid Solar Powered System—A Socio-Economic Case Study for Rural Development

Abstract

Socio-economic development in the rural regions of Africa cannot succeed without suitable infrastructure. An essential key to this is electrification. Despite various national and international activities and expansion programmes, and a wide variety of actors, their implementation is progressing slowly. In order to supply remote areas with electricity, off-grid system technologies have become increasingly common in recent years. In this article, we present the use of a photovoltaic system in conjunction with a 85 kWh second life lithium-ion battery (LIB) as an off-grid hybrid system to electrify an island in Lake Victoria in Tanzania as a socio-economic case study. This off-grid hybrid system was able to supply an average of 42.31 kWh of energy per day, with the daily demand of the key infrastructure successfully connected in the project, such as the local hospital and school, amounting to 18.75 kWh. The scaled annual production of 15,443.16 kWh offers enough potential to include private households as well as the local fishing industry in the power supply. Assuming an expected lifetime of 15 years, the described system amortises itself from the 4th year. In addition, this project should also serve as a possible second life scenario for batteries with regard to the rapidly developing global electromobility and the perspective return of used LIBs. An economic and an ecological evaluation shows a solution approach of using a second life lithium-ion battery compared to a conventional diesel generator solution. The consideration of health aspects is included in the evaluation. Zusammenfassung Eine sozioökonomische Entwicklung in den ländlichen Regionen Afrikas kann ohne geeignete Infrastruktur nicht gelingen. Ein wesentlicher Eckpfeiler hierfür stellt die Elektrifizierung dar. Trotz diverser nationaler wie internationaler Maßnahmen und Ausbauprogramme, unterschiedlichster Akteure, schreitet die Umsetzung nur langsam voran. Um abgelegene Gegenden dennoch mit Elektrizität zu versorgen, haben sich in den vergangenen Jahren verstärkt netzunabhängige Systemtechnologien durchgesetzt. In diesem Artikel zeigen wir den Einsatz einer Photovoltaikanlage in Verbindung mit einer 85 kWh Second Life Lithium-Ionen-Batterie (LIB) als netzunabhängiges Hybridsystem, zur Elektrifizierung einer Insel im Viktoriasee in Tansania als sozioökonomisches Projekt. Mit diesem netzunabhängigen Hybridsystem konnte täglich durchschnittlich 42,31 kWh Energie geliefert werden, wobei der tägliche Bedarf der im Projekt erfolgreich angeschlossenen Schlüsselinfrastruktur, wie das lokale Krankenhaus und die Schule, 18,75 kWh beträgt. Die skalierte Jahresproduktion von 15.443,16 kWh bietet genug Kapazität, private Haushalte sowie die lokale Fischerei mit in die Stromversorgung einzubeziehen. In der Annahme einer erwarteten Lebensdauer von 15 Jahren kann sich das beschriebene System bereits ab dem 4. Jahr amortisieren. Darüber hinaus soll dieses Projekt auch in Hinblick auf die sich rasant entwickelnde globale Elektromobilität und dem perspektivischen Rückla...

Stationary, Second Use Battery Energy Storage Systems and Their Applications: A Research Review

“…Backup power systems are deployed locally in urban areas to counter frequent power outages. In areas where suitable grid infrastructure is lacking, off-grid solutions, comprised of an energy source such as a photovoltaic system and a battery storage system, offer remote electricity supply [114]. Several projects, supported by EU and US DOE grants, aim to establish off-grid solutions with second use batteries which are generally based on battery modules in the low kWh capacity range [114][115][116].…”

“…In areas where suitable grid infrastructure is lacking, off-grid solutions, comprised of an energy source such as a photovoltaic system and a battery storage system, offer remote electricity supply [114]. Several projects, supported by EU and US DOE grants, aim to establish off-grid solutions with second use batteries which are generally based on battery modules in the low kWh capacity range [114][115][116]. On account of their high initial prices and due to limited electrical grid infrastructure, EVs are less common and cannot compete on prices with vehicles with an internal combustion engine at present [117].…”

Socio-economic impacts and challenges associated with the electrification of a remote area in rural Tanzania through a mini-grid system

“…In addition, these systems are often unreliable, expensive to operate and difficult to maintain. Therefore, the use of LIBs, especially second-life batteries previously used in electromobility, is well suited for such applications (Falk et al 2020). In electromobility, LIBs are the state of the art due to their high energy density, high power and long lifetime (Deng 2015).…”

“…In this article, the sustainable effectiveness of the electrification of an island in Lake Victoria (Tanzania, Africa) by a mini-grid system is evaluated within the framework of an empirical field study. The photovoltaic (PV) mini-grid system with its so far unique battery storage prototype, based on a second-life traction battery, was installed in early 2019 and described in detail in a previous publication (Falk et al 2020). The objective of this article is to evaluate various socio-economic parameters to test the impact on local development related to electrification.…”

Designing of an off-grid Photovoltaic system with battery storage for remote location

“…Around 50 million people in Pakistan are living without electrical connection [3]. In such areas, the utilization of solar energy for the fulfillment of electrical demands of the local community is one of the best solutions [4,5,6]. A lot of work on potential, advantages and utilization of solar energy in Pakistan has been done in the recent past [7,8,9,10,11,12,13].…”