The German start-up Voltfang, which repurposes electric vehicle (EV) batteries for stationary battery energy storage systems (BESS), opened its first factory on Tuesday.
Old electric car batteries – typically those still retaining at least 80% of their original capacity – will be given a new life as a renewable energy storage facility. Businesses and households will be able to store their surplus solar and wind energy.
Supermarkets showing interest
In 2023, Voltfang produced around 5 MWh of systems; in 2024, that scaled to 20 MWh. Voltfang plans to manufacture 250 MWh of BESS by next year and aims to have enough capacity to store 1 GWh by 2030. This is equivalent to the annual consumption of 300 households.
The German supermarket chain Aldi, among others, has already shown interest. The company intends to store energy from solar panels installed on the roofs of its stores.
Approximately sixty percent of Germany’s energy production came from renewable sources in 2024. That figure is expected to rise to eighty percent by 2030.
Based in Aachen
The Aachen-based company, situated near the borders of Belgium and the Netherlands, employs approximately 100 people and claims to be the largest factory in its sector. Voltfang should be profitable next year. Literally, ‘Voltfang’ means ‘to catch volts’ in German.
The company has relocated to the 6,000 m² former production halls of Aachen-based EV manufacturer Next.e.GO, located in the TRIWO Technopark.
Voltfang CEO David Oudsandji hopes his company will help reduce Europe’s largest economy’s reliance on fossil fuels and accelerate the transition to renewable energy. “If batteries can be connected to the electricity grid, we don’t need coal,” he explains.
Voltfang’s activities promote a circular economy and reduce reliance on new critical raw materials. The project reduces CO2 emissions and supports Germany’s energy transition.
And last but not least, the re-use of batteries supports grid flexibility and energy independence, especially amid geopolitical concerns about supply chain dependencies. Voltfang has already repurposed over 6,900 EV battery modules.
