
Enel X lithium-ion battery innovation projects


Through the technologies developed by Enel X, the projects presented under the second IPCEI represent our contribution to improving the sustainability and efficiency of storage systems and their integration into the power grid, encouraging a circular economy model that is in keeping with the aims of the Green Deal.
CEO of Enel X


Enel X was one of the first companies to focus on the enormous potential that the growth in the use of storage systems, combining technology, environmental sustainability and efficiency, represents.
CEO of Enel X
Enel X to accelerate energy transition towards a circular economy
The first project involves High Power Charging for electric vehicles. Specifically, a high power battery charger is a technology that aims to give an electric vehicle, or EV, the energy needed for several hundred kilometers with a charging time of just minutes. The Enel X project is focused on developing 350kW charging with integrated battery storage, which will be also able to supply services to the grid (as a comparison, a home charger typically deliver electricity at 7kW, while ultra-fast chargers are usually beyond 150kW). This project will use so-called second-life batteries for some pilot sites, a move that supports sustainability and the principles that lie behind circular economy approach.
As the popularity and desire for EVs soar, what to do with spent vehicle batteries is a priority concern. Powering a car or truck is tough on the battery. Extreme operating temperatures, hundreds of partial cycles a year, and varying discharge rates, all conspire to shorten a battery's useful life.
It is estimated that by 2030 some 60,000 tons/year of vehicle batteries will need to be disposed of in Italy alone. However, while no longer suitable for use in a vehicle, second-life batteries can still be employed in less-demanding applications, such as stationary energy storage.
The project also aims to support the decarbonization of transport through the greater penetration of e-mobility, and with it of renewables, by facilitating the integration of electric vehicles into the grid. It will also minimize the time it takes to set up charging stations, and take advantage of the falling price of energy storage by improving the economics performance of the charging sites involved.
Grid-scale power storage and recycling batteries
