SUMMARY

As electric vehicles become more prevalent on today’s roads, there is a question as to what to do with the lithium-ion batteries after the vehicles have reached end-of-life. One proposed solution is to reuse the batteries as energy storage for a home to provide cost savings via energy shifting, increased energy independence, and back-up power. However, several studies have shown that the economics of such use cases can be challenging. Thus, we propose the addition of another use case; providing charging of an electric vehicle.
In this thesis we examine three existing electric vehicle batteries and propose a generalized design to reuse them for home energy storage and vehicle charging. We put emphasis on how the existing thermal management components can be reused to allow for high rates of discharge at minimal additional cost. We create an electro-thermal model to estimate the thermal performance of such systems while accounting for uncertainty. We also estimate the thermal management system power consumption and effect thermal management has on battery lifetime. We conclude with a simulation of the device’s use in three US cities and calculate performance based on changes in household energy use, energy cost, and the amount of vehicle charging provided.