Waymo to Repurpose Depleted Robotaxi Batteries for Grid Energy Storage

Waymo has finalized an agreement with B2U to repurpose retired robotaxi batteries for powering electrical grids in California and Texas.

This partnership aims to tackle questions regarding Waymo’s strategy for managing the end-of-life phase for numerous robotaxis operating across the United States. While most of these vehicles are Jaguar I-Pace EVs, the company has recently started deploying a limited number of vans produced by the Chinese manufacturer Zeekr.

Waymo states that this collaboration will enable the deployment of “hundreds of megawatts of storage capacity,” although more specific information has not been disclosed.

B2U is one of several companies dedicated to repurposing batteries instead of simply recycling them. Redwood Materials, founded by former Tesla CTO JB Straubel and partially backed by Waymo’s parent company Alphabet, has also recently initiated its own second-life storage project using old EV batteries.