Battery second life covers the reuse, remanufacture or repurposing of batteries after automotive service, before or alongside recycling. The figures below span observed deployment and capacity, modelled thresholds and economics, and forecasts for global EV batteries, storage and recycling through 2050.
Key Battery Second Life Statistics
The most useful headline figures are:
- In 2025, global EV battery deployment reached 1.2 TWh.
- In 2025, EVs represented more than 70% of total global battery deployment.
- In 2025, light-duty vehicles represented more than 85% of global EV battery deployment.
- Around 1.2 million EV batteries could reach end of life globally in 2030, according to a forecast.
- Around 14 million EV batteries could reach end of life globally in 2040, according to a forecast.
- From 2017 to 2023, international patenting in battery circularity grew 42% per year on average.
- In 2030, battery manufacturing scrap is forecast to represent two-thirds of available global recycling feedstock.
- By 2050, end-of-life EV and storage batteries are forecast to provide more than 90% of available global recycling feedstock.
- Second-life batteries are commonly modelled as leaving automotive service at 70%-80% of original capacity.
- A reviewed 2020 economic model identified 77% remaining capacity as its optimal retirement threshold.
- A literature review reported 5-10 additional years of service for less-demanding stationary applications.
- A published residential PV case used 22.4 kWh of EV batteries and estimated a 14-year payback.
- A published commercial and industrial UPS case estimated a 7-year payback for repurposed EV batteries.
- Reuse of EV batteries in storage is forecast to meet about 10% of global storage demand by 2050.
- China hosted 80% of global pretreatment and material-recovery recycling capacity in 2023.
- By 2050, recycling could supply 20%-30% of global lithium, nickel and cobalt demand under continued collection-rate increases.
- A San Diego commercial-building model found 41% lower embodied emissions for a second-life system than for a new-battery comparator.
- In 2022, DOE awarded RePurpose Energy $6.0 million in federal cost share and $6.0 million in recipient cost share for a California microgrid demonstration.
Contents
- Battery deployment and end-of-life forecasts
- Capacity thresholds and service life
- Economics, prices and payback
- Storage demand, feedstock and recycling
- Environmental outcomes and material recovery
- Demonstrations, funding and deployment barriers
Battery Second Life Statistics: Deployment and End-of-Life Forecasts
The available feedstock for second-life systems depends on how many EV batteries are deployed, how long they remain in vehicles, and when they are collected. The latest global deployment figures show a rapidly expanding pool, while older retirement forecasts remain useful historical context rather than current observations.
According to Electric vehicle batteries — Global EV Outlook 2026, global EV battery deployment reached 1.2 TWh in 2025. That was almost 30% higher than in 2024 and more than seven times 2020 deployment, although the IEA describes the deployment figure as an estimate based on volume-weighted average pack size multiplied by vehicle sales.
| 2025 deployment measure | Result | Scope |
|---|---|---|
| EV batteries as a share of total battery deployment | More than 70% | Global batteries |
| Light-duty vehicles as a share of EV battery deployment | More than 85% | Global EV batteries; cars and vans |
| Total EV battery deployment | 1.2 TWh | Global EV batteries |
The Battery Circularity: Innovation trends for a future source of critical materials report forecasts around 1.2 million EV batteries reaching end of life in 2030 and around 14 million in 2040. These are could-reach forecasts, not observed retirement counts.
The same report found that international patenting in battery circularity grew 42% per year on average from 2017 to 2023. That measure covers circularity technologies broadly, so it includes more than second-life repurposing alone.
A separate historical outlook estimated 100-120 GWh of EV batteries retired by 2030. Global EV Outlook 2020 described that volume as roughly equivalent to annual battery production at the time of its 2020 outlook; later forecasts may differ.
Battery Second Life Data: Capacity Thresholds and Service Life
State of health is central to the meaning of “second life.” A battery can be unsuitable for a vehicle’s range, power, warranty or safety requirements while still being useful in a less-demanding stationary application, but the threshold is not universal.
The peer-reviewed review Cost, energy, and carbon footprint benefits of second-life electric vehicle battery use reports that second-life batteries are commonly modelled as leaving automotive service around 70%-80% of original capacity. One reviewed economic model used 80% remaining capacity at purchase and 50% at second-life abandonment, while a 2020 model identified 77% remaining capacity as its optimal retirement threshold and found a Pareto improvement when retired-battery capacity was below 87%.
| Capacity or life measure | Value | Interpretation |
|---|---|---|
| Common automotive-to-second-life threshold | 70%-80% state of health | Literature range; varies by use case |
| Reviewed model purchase assumption | 80% state of health | Scenario baseline |
| Reviewed model abandonment assumption | 50% state of health | Scenario baseline |
| Model-specific optimal retirement threshold | 77% state of health | 2020 model result |
A commercial-building case study in San Diego used 80% initial second-life state of health, compared with 100% for a new battery. The modelled system had 362 kWh of initial energy, 86% round-trip efficiency versus 92% for the new-battery comparator, a degradation rate of 6.3% per 1,000 equivalent full cycles, and a 10-year expected system lifetime.
The same Techno-Economic and Environmental Viability of Second-Life EV Batteries in Commercial Buildings: An Analysis Using Real-World Data study uses model inputs rather than a market-wide average. More generally, the reviewed literature reports 5-10 additional years of service for less-demanding stationary applications, with the range varying by chemistry, duty cycle and battery health.
Battery Second Life Economics: Prices, Savings and Payback
Second-life economics are highly application-specific. Repurposing costs, remaining capacity, warranties, degradation, electricity prices, incentives and market services all affect whether a reused battery beats a new system.
The 2020 model summarized in Cost, energy, and carbon footprint benefits of second-life electric vehicle battery use estimated second-life value at 785 CNY/kWh, equivalent to 116 USD/kWh in its baseline. A residential PV case used 22.4 kWh of EV batteries and estimated a 14-year payback against a predicted 16-year battery lifetime, while a commercial and industrial UPS case estimated a 7-year payback.
A Cranfield case with a 100 kWh second-life battery reported up to 25% annual cost savings under optimized control and 15% under time-based control. Its frequency-response payback period was as short as 3-5 years depending on market conditions, so these are case-study model results rather than general market payback periods.
The off-grid study Techno-Economics of Using Second Life BEV Traction Batteries as BESS in Domestic RES Installations calculated scenario prices of 88.05 €/kWh with no incentive, 105.50 €/kWh with a 25% incentive and 131.60 €/kWh with a 50% incentive. Those modelled prices equalled 34.1%-54.1% of new-battery purchase costs in the study’s comparison.
A California utility-scale solar-plus-storage model found second-life packs had to sell below 60% of original price for profitable projects. In the San Diego commercial-building model, the second-life core cost was $100/kWh versus $200/kWh for a new battery.
| San Diego 10-year model outcome | Second-life system | New-battery comparator |
|---|---|---|
| Initial investment | $89,595 | $116,745 |
| Net present value | $45,358 | $30,401 |
| Internal rate of return | 14.4% | 10.2% |
| Operating LCOS | $183/MWh | $212/MWh |
The San Diego figures come from Techno-Economic and Environmental Viability of Second-Life EV Batteries in Commercial Buildings: An Analysis Using Real-World Data and depend on its financing, incentive, degradation and operating assumptions. Operating LCOS is not total system LCOS.
Battery Second Life Trends: Storage Demand, Feedstock and Recycling
Reuse can delay recycling while extending a battery’s useful service, but it does not remove the eventual need for collection and material recovery. Forecasts therefore treat second life and recycling as connected stages in a circular system.
The Recycling of Critical Minerals — Executive summary forecasts that reuse of EV batteries in storage applications could meet about 10% of global storage demand by 2050. It also forecasts that manufacturing scrap will represent two-thirds of available recycling feedstock in 2030, while end-of-life EV and storage batteries will represent more than 90% by 2050.
If used-EV exports mirror conventional-car patterns, advanced economies and China could lose 25% of recycling feedstock by 2050, equivalent to a 1 TWh reduction in that conditional scenario. Developing economies could see a 50% increase, or about 0.5 TWh, under the same export pattern.
| Recycling and feedstock indicator | Period | Result |
|---|---|---|
| Manufacturing scrap share of available feedstock | 2030 forecast | Two-thirds |
| End-of-life EV and storage share | 2050 forecast | More than 90% |
| Reuse contribution to global storage demand | 2050 forecast | About 10% |
| China share of global pretreatment and material-recovery capacity | 2023 | 80% |
| Global pretreatment and material-recovery capacity growth | 2023 | 50% year over year |
The same IEA analysis says global recycling capacity could be seven times available feedstock in 2030 if all announced projects come online, using its stated deployment scenario. By 2040, announced capacity in Europe and the United States covers only 30% of projected feedstock, while India’s announced capacity covers 10%.
Battery Second Life Environmental Outcomes and Material Recovery
Environmental outcomes depend on what second-life equipment displaces, how it is operated, the electricity mix and what happens at final recycling. Modelled reductions should therefore be read as study-specific results, not universal lifecycle averages.
By 2050, recycling could supply 20%-30% of global lithium, nickel and cobalt demand under continued collection-rate increases. The IEA’s sensitivity cases range from 15%-25% under lower collection rates to 30%-40% under higher collection rates.
The U.S. lead-acid comparison in Recycling of Critical Minerals — Executive summary cites a 99% recycling rate, but that is a historical lead-acid benchmark and not a lithium-ion second-life rate.
In the San Diego commercial-building case, the second-life system reduced embodied emissions by 41% versus the new-battery comparator and achieved 9% lower carbon intensity. Its assumptions used 70 kg CO2e/kWh of embodied battery emissions for the second-life battery versus 120 kg CO2e/kWh for a new battery.
These results are reported in Techno-Economic and Environmental Viability of Second-Life EV Batteries in Commercial Buildings: An Analysis Using Real-World Data. The study used real-world load data but modelled battery lifecycle assumptions, and the carbon-intensity result depends on the grid-emission factor.
Battery Second Life Demonstrations, Funding and Deployment Barriers
Public demonstrations show the range of applications being tested: microgrids, mobile charging, adaptive second-use systems and tools that evaluate whether reuse is financially viable. Awards measure committed project funding, not completed commercial deployment or operating revenue.
In 2022, DOE selected several U.S. projects under the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. The Electric Drive Vehicle Battery Recycling and Second Life Applications Selections factsheets report these awards and matches:
- RePurpose Energy received $6.0 million in federal cost share and $6.0 million in recipient cost share for a California second-life microgrid demonstration.
- Tennessee Technological University received $4,531,642 in federal cost share and included $4,532,323 in recipient cost share for a second-life mobile-charging project.
- The University of Alabama received $4.0 million in federal cost share and $4.0 million in recipient cost share for adaptive second-use batteries.
- A California Smartville proposal had $1.5 million in guaranteed California Energy Commission cost-share funding for a second-use demonstration.
The same DOE selections described a PRIME recycling process expected to reduce whole-process energy consumption and cost to 20% of traditional methods. That is an expected project-performance figure, not validated commercial operation.
The Battery Second-Use Repurposing Cost Calculator from NREL evaluates a plug-in electric vehicle battery first in automotive service and then in a secondary market. Its scope is a decision tool covering two applications per battery, not a measured deployment rate.
The major barriers remain application fit, health and safety testing, warranties, logistics, degradation uncertainty, collection and the timing of recycling capacity. The supplied evidence does not establish one global adoption rate, because many reported results are forecasts, demonstrations or modelled case studies rather than fleet-wide observations.