Smartville Awarded $10M DOE Grant For Innovative EV Battery Repurposing Project

California electric vehicle (EV) battery recycler Smartville has been awarded a $10 million grant from the U.S. Department of Energy Office of Clean Energy Demonstrations (OCED) for its innovative Long-Duration Energy Storage (LDES) project.

Smartville’s five-year initiative, known as the Second-Life Smart Systems (SMART) project, aims to repurpose retired EV batteries for various applications, enhancing grid resilience and promoting clean energy technologies. In detail, the SMART project, part of the OCED’s LDES Demonstrations Program, will focus on validating new energy storage technologies and improving the integration of grid storage in diverse communities.

Antoni Tong, Smartville’s CEO and co-founder, expressed the project’s multifaceted benefits stating, “The SMART project will enhance grid resilience, support EV charging, and promote clean energy technologies, all while providing educational and training opportunities at Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) and disadvantaged communities.”

Moreover, Smartville has partnered with several organizations for this initiative including EVerged, the HBCU Community Development Action Coalition (CDAC), Denmark Technical College, Dillard University, Luna Development, Southern Power, and Cox Automotive. These partnerships underlines the project’s goal of creating an ecosystem of EV battery circularity while supporting underserved communities.

Furthermore, the project will be implemented across multiple locations including San Diego and Los Angeles Counties in California; Orangeburg and Denmark in South Carolina; Atlanta, Georgia; and New Orleans, Louisiana. As a result, this diverse geographical spread aims to overcome technical and institutional barriers to the full-scale deployment of LDES systems in various regions.

United States (U.S.) representative for California’s 49th congressional district Mike Levin expressed the repurposing of EV batteries by Smartville by further stating, “This project will support underserved communities while improving our climate resilience. I’m proud to have helped secure the funding for this project through the Department of Energy, and I look forward to seeing all the applications of this technology in the future.”

As of now, the OCED awarded nearly $1 million to the SMART project in June 2024 to start work on the first phase. This initial funding is part of the larger $10 million grant, which will be distributed over the five-year project timeline. Notably, the SMART project not only addresses technical challenges but also focuses on creating educational and training opportunities, particularly for HBCUs and disadvantaged communities.

As the EV market continues to expand, finding innovative ways to extend the life cycle of EV batteries becomes increasingly crucial for environmental sustainability and energy resilience as the project progresses.

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