‘A gold mine’: How old EV batteries could help prevent Europe from wasting solar and wind energy

Second-life EV batteries could ease Europe’s renewable energy bottleneck

Usagevpn.com – Europe’s rapid shift towards wind and solar power is exposing a major weakness in its electricity system: too much clean energy is being produced in places and at times when the grid cannot use it. Batteries removed from electric vehicles may offer part of the answer, providing storage capacity that could keep renewable electricity from being wasted.

The potential is significant. Europe saved €51 billion last year through lower oil and gas imports linked to the expansion of renewable energy. Yet electricity networks designed for centralised coal and gas plants are struggling to accommodate power from offshore wind farms, rural solar installations and other decentralised projects.

That mismatch has left a vast amount of investment waiting at the grid connection stage. A 2026 assessment by consulting group AFRY, commissioned by Beyond Fossil Fuels, found that 375 gigawatts of clean-energy projects and 455GW of battery-storage projects were stuck in distribution-grid queues across Europe. More than €100 billion in renewable projects is effectively waiting for access to the network.

For households and businesses facing high energy costs, the delays can also slow the installation of technologies such as solar panels and heat pumps. Grid capacity is no longer simply an engineering issue; it has become a central part of whether consumers can benefit from cheaper, cleaner electricity.

When clean power cannot reach customers

Traditional European power systems were built around large generating stations that could be located near major demand centres. Renewable generation follows a different pattern. Strong winds may be found offshore or far from cities, while large solar farms often sit in areas with ample land rather than close to dense urban demand.

Wind and solar output also depends on weather conditions. They cannot always increase or decrease generation at the exact moment electricity demand changes. When renewable production exceeds what the grid can absorb, wholesale power prices can turn negative. Operators may then be asked to lower output or temporarily stop generating altogether.

This process, known as curtailment, represents lost low-carbon electricity. In 2024, the European Union curtailed 10 terawatt-hours of renewable generation, enough electricity to supply three million homes for a year. The value of that unused power was estimated at €4.3 billion.

Storage can change the equation by absorbing surplus electricity when supply is high and returning it later, when demand rises or generation falls. Battery energy storage systems have therefore become increasingly important to Europe’s energy plans. However, the scale of investment has not yet matched the need created by the renewables buildout.

A valuable resource after a vehicle’s first life

Electric-vehicle batteries do not necessarily become unusable when they are no longer suitable for cars. Many are removed from vehicles while retaining 70% to 80% of their original storage capacity. That remaining capability may fall short of automotive performance standards, but it can still be useful for stationary applications in homes, commercial premises and grid-connected storage projects.

“Old EV batteries really are a gold mine,” Adrian Hiel, director of Electrification Alliance, says. “Even if their performance has degraded to the point that they aren’t great for a car anymore they can easily have a second life, measured in decades, as storage for the grid, for businesses or domestically.”

Reusing batteries can extend the productive life of materials already manufactured for the transport sector. In practical terms, a stationary battery does not need to power a heavy vehicle, support rapid acceleration or meet the same space and weight constraints as an EV. Its role can be simpler: store electricity and release it when it is most valuable.

That could help reduce curtailment, soften sharp price swings and give local energy systems more flexibility. It would not replace the need for new grid lines, stronger distribution networks and newly built storage facilities, but it could reduce pressure on an increasingly constrained system.

Europe’s future supply of used batteries is set to grow

For now, the supply of batteries suitable for reuse remains limited. Available units often come from vehicles involved in accidents or from EVs that have been on the road for more than a decade. Europe bought relatively few electric cars ten years ago, and early models generally carried smaller battery packs.

In 2016, 215,000 EVs were sold in Europe, International Energy Agency figures show. Last year, sales reached 4.2 million, an increase of 1,853%. The size of the batteries has changed as well: earlier models frequently used packs of 22kWh or 24kWh, while newer vehicles can carry batteries ranging from 50kWh to 100kWh.

“In contrast, modern cars can have anything from a 50kWh to a 100kWh battery,” Hiel explains. “So we are looking at two different trends that could radically change the grid in 10 to 15 years.”

The EU added 27GWh of batteries to its grid last year. Over the same period, the bloc added roughly four to five times that level of battery storage through electric vehicles. As those vehicles age and leave the road, their packs could become a major new source of stationary storage.

“When those EVs eventually retire and their batteries become standalone storage, it will transform how the grid is run and operated,” Hiel adds. “With each year as those storage levels increase we should see bigger and bigger price decreases in electricity – it is a very exciting virtuous circle.”

Reuse before recycling

More than one million EV batteries could reach end-of-life by 2030, the IEA estimates. If they are not reused effectively, they risk becoming one of the world’s fastest-growing waste streams.

Recycling remains essential when batteries can no longer serve a safe second-life purpose, but the process is complex and expensive. Packs must first be discharged, dismantled and separated into components. Chemical processes can also create safety hazards, including the release of substances such as hydrofluoric acid that can endanger workers and damage plant equipment.

Giving suitable batteries a second life before recycling could therefore deliver two benefits: it may delay waste and provide flexible electricity storage during a period when Europe needs every available tool to make better use of renewable power. The opportunity will depend on safe testing, clear standards and systems capable of connecting these batteries where they can deliver the greatest value.