2023-08-06 17:00:00
Düsseldorf The young Aachen-based company Voltfang has a new supporter: the heating engineer Viessmann will be one of the owners in the future. Along with other donors, he is participating in a financing round in which Voltfang collects a total of 5.2 million euros.
Voltfang turns used electric car batteries into energy storage systems for companies. Customers include hotels and bakeries as well as other companies with a large branch network. Voltfang founder David Oudsandji says: “We have each done initial pilot projects with Aldi Nord and McDonald’s. We are now identifying locations where electricity storage should be set up.”
Electricity storage is gaining in importance. On the one hand, companies and private individuals who have a photovoltaic system on the roof can temporarily store their solar power in storage and use it themselves at a later point in time.
On the other hand, batteries can be used to take advantage of the fact that electricity prices fluctuate over the course of the day and week. When there is a lot of sunshine and wind, it is favorable. Then storage owners can charge the batteries cheaply with electricity from the socket – and later use it to charge e-cars or for cooling units when electricity from the socket has become more expensive.
At the same time, the scarcity of raw materials makes it difficult to obtain new electricity storage, says Oudsandji: “Many of our customers are afraid that they will soon run out of battery storage.” This is already a challenge for car manufacturers. Good prerequisites for a company that recycles existing batteries.
“It is important to test a battery meticulously before using it a second time”
Giving used batteries a second life is not trivial. Matthias Buchert, Head of Resources and Mobility at the Öko-Institut, says: “Before using a battery for a second time, it is important to meticulously test whether it is damaged and how much capacity it still has.”
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This is exactly what Voltfang promises. The start-up wants to ensure that its storage devices have as long a service life as possible.
This is interesting for investors like Viessmann. The family business announced a few months ago that it would sell its heating division to the US group Carrier and invest the proceeds in CO2 avoidance, among other things. Storage enables a higher quota of renewable energies, which displace fossil power generation.
Voltfang founder Oudsandji says: “We spoke to Viessmann for the first time two years ago. At that time they had a list of goals that we still have to achieve before they invest. For example, it was about winning large customers and setting up series production.”
When Voltfang got back into contact with Viessmann after the carrier takeover and was able to show progress like Aldi Nord as a customer, things went very quickly.
Secondary use of batteries as an interesting business area
Experts consider Voltfang’s approach to be fundamentally sensible. Jan Wittmaack, partner and expert for climate and sustainability at the management consultancy BCG, says: “The scarcity of resources is a big issue. That is why battery recycling is an interesting business area for investors.”
He explains: “Basically, it is always better to recycle batteries than to recycle them. Because if you disassemble them, you have to use energy and there are costs.”
Buchert from the Öko-Institut also thinks the secondary use of batteries makes sense in principle. However, he also says: “I suspect that if more and more electric cars come onto the used car market, many users will probably drive these cars until the battery is finally no longer usable – not even for a second use.”
The Voltfang founders
The company turns used electric car batteries into power storage for businesses.
According to Buchert, very big optimists believe that 70 percent of discarded batteries would still be suitable for a second use. However, Buchert considers the proportion to be significantly lower.
But Buchert also says: “In the coming years there will be a great many old electric car and electric truck batteries on the market – more than there will be a need for stationary, used batteries. Companies that sell batteries for secondary use will sensibly select the best batteries from this range.”
600 memories planned per month
Voltfang isn’t the only company offering second-life power storage. The Basel start-up Upvolt, the Munich company Stable and the German-Indian start-up Nunam are also working on this business model.
At Voltfang, the next big step is to build our own production hall. At the moment, the company is still producing its storage tanks in a rented commercial building. The hall should be in place by 2025. Voltfang wants to increase its production to 50 battery storage units per month by the end of next year – with the new production hall it should then be 600 units per month.
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