Written-off vehicles typically earn little attention, with the main buyers usually being auto wreckers seeking parts or car enthusiasts hunting for restoration projects.
But at salvage auctions across Australia, a new type of buyer is emerging, and they are interested in one thing: the high-powered batteries inside electric vehicles.
The demand for secondhand EV batteries is surging, with buyers repurposing them for everything from solar storage units to off-grid energy systems that can replace diesel generators.
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Brendon Green, the general manager of automotive solutions at Pickles, says the auction house is selling about 100 salvaged EVs every month, and interest is surging.
“It’s only very early days, but they are certainly in strong demand,” says Green.
“We’ve got this new element of second-life battery startups. That industry really didn’t exist 18 months ago.”
Battery hunters
Salvage auction houses started regularly seeing salvage EVs in early 2024, most of which were Teslas, the first mass market electric vehicle on Australian roads.
Battery hunters are now also seeing alternatives, such as BYDs and MGs, in line with the growing number of different makes on the market. Many of the wrecked vehicles are two-to-three years old, and include a mix of complete write-offs and those that are repairable.
The appeal for EV batteries is obvious, given they are about five times as powerful as a typical home energy storage unit.
Andrew Chadwick, a lithium battery repair specialist, says even ageing EV batteries have plenty of life in them for other purposes.
“The output requirements for a solar battery are a lot less than what you need for an electric vehicle,” says Chadwick, from Second Life Battery Sales.
“Even if they are no longer good for an electric vehicle, with a little finessing, they’re perfect for a solar system.”
Consider an EV battery that is down to 70% capacity. While this will considerably reduce the range of the vehicle, making the car undesirable, it still holds plenty of charge for less-intensive uses.
You could even put a trailer load of second-hand EV batteries together, and power an entire music festival.
A music event in Queensland’s Sunshine Coast was postponed in June over council concerns its power usage would disrupt nearby businesses. The punk and indie-alternative festival went ahead in early September, powered by repurposed EV batteries.
“Our trailers powered the whole event for the day, including speakers, food trucks, everything, and had plenty of power left over,” says John Myler, co-founder of MyNu Energy.
“People really like them as an alternative to a diesel generator. If you’ve got sound equipment or food trucks, having a noisy, smelly diesel generator probably isn’t the atmosphere you’re looking for, whereas these batteries are silent, pollution free, and hold huge amounts of power.”
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After the event, the trailers were recharged using solar, ready for their next deployment.
Life extension
At Pickles auctions, the demand for EV batteries is evident.
Financial year sales of salvage EVs increased 200% over the prior year, with the wrecked vehicles now boasting much higher price tags than combustion engine cars.
Buyers know that EVs contain some of the world’s most advanced battery technology, ready to be deployed.
About one in 10 new car sales in Australia are battery-powered, with the Tesla Model Y and Model 3 and the BYD Seal and Atto the most popular models in 2024, according to the EV Council.
After a comparably slow roll out in Australia marked by political headwinds, motoring experts believe EV sales will surge as prices become more competitive and charging infrastructure catches up.
Currently, many batteries are shredded, with the material then separated into components ready to be rebuilt into new batteries, with the process often including multiple facilities in different countries.
A repurposed battery can reduce this process, with some second-hand buyers believing they can get about 20 years of usage from them.
Myler says repurposed EV batteries are part of the solution to Australia’s intensifying energy needs.
“We need a huge amount of short term energy storage to help us transition to sustainable energy solutions,” he says.
“As a country, we need every bit of storage we can get our hands on.”