OCI and Hyundai Motor Launch ESS Demonstration Project Using Reused Electric Vehicle Batteries

[Asia Economy Reporter Yoonju Hwang] OCI Power (OCI), a subsidiary of OCI, has launched a demonstration project utilizing Hyundai Motor Group's electric vehicle (EV) reused batteries for energy storage systems (ESS) in solar power generation, accelerating its pursuit of the growing distributed energy market.

On the 10th, OCI announced that it will commercialize an ESS using Hyundai Motor Group's 300kWh-class EV reused batteries, which incorporate the latest domestic and international safety standards, at a 727kW solar power plant located at OCI Specialty's Gongju factory.

After performance testing of Hyundai Motor Group's EV reused batteries, OCI completed the ESS installation with products meeting the latest technical standards through tests including charging and discharging, temperature, and functional tests of the ESS Cube in container form linked with the power conversion system (PCS). Based on this, OCI plans to conduct a performance comparison analysis between the newly installed ESS using other companies' new batteries and the ESS using Hyundai Motor Group's EV reused batteries.

The two companies agreed in September 2019 to establish a comprehensive cooperation framework to discover business models linking ESS and solar power generation by reusing EV batteries and to develop distributed energy markets in Korea and North America.

To this end, OCI will build demonstration sites in Gongju, Korea, and Texas, USA, where OCI Solar Power is located, and will be responsible for supplying and installing the PCS and operation systems. Hyundai Motor Group will provide the EV reused batteries and handle their maintenance. Both companies will jointly verify business feasibility through operation and demonstration analysis of the linked system. Installing the ESS using Hyundai Motor Group's EV reused batteries at this solar power plant is the first achievement of this collaboration.

With the rapid growth of the EV industry, the reused battery market is expected to blossom significantly. According to market research firm MarketsandMarkets, the reused battery market size is projected to grow from $1.5 billion in 2019 to $18.1 billion by 2030. Market experts also noted that due to the rapid growth of electric vehicles, all batteries will be used for EVs, making it difficult to install power batteries with new batteries.

OCI is accelerating its distributed energy business by installing ESS at sites such as the Korea Rural Community Corporation and the Korea Water Resources Corporation. In particular, OCI possesses PCS products for ESS ranging from 100kW to 2MW, enabling compatibility with various batteries, and offers container-type ESS Cube products that facilitate external installation, providing advantages such as shortened construction periods.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.