Priority access to LG Energy Solution battery capacity has gone to B2U Storage Solutions under a strategic partnership. The two plan to repurpose those batteries with B2U's patented technologies for grid-scale BESS in the United States, keeping them in service longer before recycling.
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B2U Storage Solutions, a US-based developer and operator of BESS built from repurposed batteries, has formed a strategic partnership with LG Energy Solution that gives it priority access to the battery maker's capacity. The agreement, announced in Los Angeles, also opens a joint search for BESS business opportunities across the United States.
What the two will do with that capacity is give it a second working life. B2U plans to apply its patented technologies to LG Energy Solution batteries so they can serve grid-scale energy storage, generating economic value by extending their use before they are recycled.
The gain lies in the years added. Keeping batteries in service for longer defers the costs and environmental impacts of recycling, and in BESS applications they can keep delivering value for years to come. The partners are aiming that storage at utilities, energy storage developers and large commercial users such as data centers, and they are working to provide gigawatt-hours of storage capacity from repurposed batteries.
Seung Tak Joo, who leads the Energy as a Service business department at LG Energy Solution, said, "This partnership advances our strategy to extend the value of our batteries beyond their original applications." Freeman Hall, founder and CEO of B2U Storage Solutions, tied the deal to price: "We are committed to driving down the cost of energy storage by unlocking the inherent value of repurposed batteries."
That cost argument meets a grid under strain. The release frames the deal against a US grid pressed by rising demand and by intermittent renewables, where stored power helps balance supply and demand. The partners say that pairing a reliable supply of batteries with proven technology makes that storage more cost effective.
B2U Storage Solutions operates BESS that it manufactures, develops and deploys on its patented EPS technology platform, with integrated repurposing services for EV batteries, and its solutions are designed to qualify for the domestic content tax credit bonus.