The first charging station for EVs that uses energy storage based on second-life batteries from Irizar e-mobility is up and running. This charging point, developed by Repsol and Ibil, has been installed in a Repsol service station on the N-I road where it goes through the city of Tolosa in Gipuzkoa.

Irizar e-mobility and Ibil earlier signed a collaboration agreement to give a second life to electric bus batteries. Consequently, the batteries that Irizar produces and installs in its buses—and their power electronics—will be reused as energy storage elements in the charging facilities that Ibil is developing and deploying for Repsol service stations and others.

One of the first results of that collaboration has been installing and commissioning the first 50 kW charging station for electric vehicles with an energy storage system based on Irizar e-mobility second-life batteries. Ingeteam, Cidetec and Gureak also collaborated on the project.

The latter company employs people with disabilities from Gipuzkoa and they carried out the entire industrial assembly of the storage module. The project also had support from the Basque government and the Provincial Government of Gipuzkoa through the Hazitek and SmartMobility Industry R&D programs, respectively.

The main advantages of this project include:

• It makes it possible to install quick charging points (50 kW) in places where it would otherwise not be feasible because of a lack of sufficient electrical power or where, even if it is viable, the technical difficulties of connecting to the grid would require an excessive increase in investment.

• The power of the grid needed to provide services is reduced by 70%. A 50 kW quick charging point can thus be put into operation using only a 15 kW grid connection.

• It can be installed almost anywhere because of the small footprint of the storage module, which is less than a square meter.

• Infrastructure operating costs can be lowered significantly, by up to 50% primarily due to needing a lower power service.

• It provides a second life to electric bus batteries and promotes sustainability and the circular economy.

The technical difficulties of installations in places where installing electric charging points is ideal in terms of mobility, such as service stations, can be overcome with an innovative solution that provides autonomy and efficiency to the charging system and it also integrates with local distributed generation and self-consumption.

Installing this charging station is another step forwards in Irizar e-mobility’s commitment to the circular economy.

The current line of vehicles includes three models, the Irizar ie bus, Irizar ie tram and Irizar ie truck. Irizar e-mobility also manufactures and develops its own batteries. Irizar electric vehicles have been on the road since 2014 in several European cities.

In December 2019, Repsol acquired Ibil’s charging network and energy commercialization services for electric vehicles. Ibil is concentrating its activities in the installation and operation of infrastructures for Repsol and third parties.