Waymo Robotaxi Battery Second Life as Grid Storage Covers Hundreds of Megawatts
Waymo’s robotaxis drive a lot. More than any personally owned car ever would. That intensity of use means batteries wear out faster than the vehicles themselves. Now there is a plan for what happens to them next. Waymo has partnered with B2U Storage Solutions to repurpose retired EV battery packs into grid-connected energy storage systems across California and Texas.
How the Waymo Robotaxi Battery Second Life Partnership Works
B2U Storage Solutions announced a strategic supply agreement with Waymo to repurpose batteries from their fleet of electric vehicles once retired from automotive use. The used battery packs will be installed into battery energy storage systems interconnected to the electric grid and will provide valuable grid services in electricity markets from California to Texas, supporting the same electricity grids where Waymo’s autonomous fleet is already active.
For Waymo, which operates autonomous EVs that drive for hours at a time, providing a total of more than 500,000 paid trips a week, that means that “sometimes, our vehicles outlast our batteries.” B2U’s technology keeps those lithium-ion cells operating safely and efficiently for several more additional years as stationary storage before they eventually get recycled.
The Scale and the Grid Impact
Waymo said the partnership will deploy “hundreds of megawatts of storage capacity.” However, the company did not provide additional details. Currently, Waymo operates almost its entire fleet with Jaguar I-Pace EVs. Meanwhile, it has also started deploying a small number of vans from Chinese automaker Zeekr.
Meanwhile, B2U operates several projects near population centers in California and Texas. In these areas, transmission constraints create strong demand for energy storage. Additionally, both states have high levels of solar generation, giving batteries significant opportunities to generate revenue. As a result, B2U participates in wholesale power markets and sells capacity and reliability services to utilities and grid operators.
Earlier projects delivered between 25 and 30 megawatt-hours of storage per site. Furthermore, each site used between 500 and 600 batteries.
Where This Sits in the Broader Battery Economy
B2U is one of several companies that focus on battery repurposing instead of recycling. Redwood Materials, founded by former JB Straubel and backed in part by Alphabet, recently launched its own second-life energy storage business using retired EV batteries.
The two companies take different approaches. B2U focuses on front-of-meter energy storage projects. Redwood Energy’s new grid storage product is mainly designed for behind-the-meter use.
Adam Lenz, Waymo’s head of sustainability, explained the thinking behind the partnership:
“Through this partnership, we can repurpose our batteries for local grid storage. This allows them to keep delivering economic and environmental value to communities long after they leave the road.”
