Bib batteries x Voi x WeRECY: A sustainable partnership to promote second life for batteries

In a context where the cost of recycling batteries is increasing (exceeding €3,000 per tonnes) and tensions around the management of this recycling are rising in Europe, promoting second-life applications for batteries is not only more ecological but also more cost-effective. Indeed, the free recovery of used batteries for less demanding applications, instead of sending them to the appropriate recycling branch, which is expensive for their manager, extends their lifespan by several years.

As a reminder, when a battery is no longer performant enough to be used in in an electric vehicle, it still has considerable potential for less demanding applications. This is where they can start their second-life. By reconditioning these batteries for secondary applications, such as public lighting or stationary energy storage, we can not only extend their lifespan, but also contribute to reducing waste and use resources in a more efficient way.

Keeping this is mind, Bib batteries and WeRECY enter into a strategic partnership. By highlighting this partnership, we want to share with you how we are working together to create a more sustainable future.

As part of this partnership, Bib batteries recently recovered a hundred end-of-life batteries from Voi Technology Marseille, one of our free-service scooters client. Unlike other end-of-life options, Voi didn't have to incur any costs for us to get rid of their obsolete batteries. These batteries were then given to WeRECY, which only had to cover the transport costs. This means that nearly 100 batteries have benefited from efficient, economical, and ecological management by Bib Batteries and have been treated by WeRECY to give them a second life. More end-of-life batteries we recovered from our clients will soon be sent to WeRECY’s workshops.

The batteries sent by Bib batteries to WeRECY have been rigorously selected, based on their state of health. The management platform developed by Bib provides a diagnosis based on an analysis of operational data. From there, an intelligent decision tree classifies the batteries according to their residual potential (or State of Health - SOH). In this way, only Voi batteries that lacked autonomy, i.e. whose SOH was too low to be used on a scooter, but high enough for a second application, were passed on to WeRECY. These batteries will for example be used for public lighting. The other out-of-use batteries have otherwise all been sent to and repaired by our partners.

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This partnership with WeRECY perfectly illustrates our commitment to a more sustainable management of batteries. By giving a second life to batteries, we are not just minimizing waste, but also contributing to making the use of resources more efficient and responsible. All this, without incurring additional battery management costs for our customers.