Jae Wan Park, a professor of mechanical and aerospace engineering at UC Davis who received a 2014 CITRIS Seed Award, is giving new life to electric vehicle (EV) batteries.
His startup, RePurpose Energy, a venture from the fall 2019 CITRIS Foundry cohort, works to create an energy storage system based on second-life EV batteries, which can store energy from renewable sources including wind and solar. In this system, the batteries will charge while energy is being generated and discharge energy during peak usage times in order to relieve strain on the power grid, all without necessitating new batteries to provide this storage.
One of the team’s core technologies allows them to assess the health of the EV batteries using AI algorithms, and they have also provided software to track the state of health modules in real time.
Since their first commercial-scale second life energy system was installed in 2018, the company has been gradually expanding, delivering systems to Nissan headquarters in Tennessee and federal and state governments across the country. Repurpose Energy was also recognized by Time Magazine as one of America’s top green tech companies. Motivated by these impactful milestones, its founder is prepared for the long road ahead.
“It’s tough – at the end of the day, we’re tired and sometimes we want to give up,” said Park. “But we’re enjoying the journey and when we make small progress, we can smile, and if we sweat more now, our future will be brighter.”