Waymo's old robotaxi batteries will live on as stationary energy storage.
The autonomous vehicle company announced a partnership with B2U Storage Solutions on Thursday.
The used batteries will help support the energy grid in places where Waymo operates, starting with Texas and California.
Waymo on Thursday announced a partnership to recycle its EV batteries when they reach the end of their usable life in robotaxis. The packs that currently help ferry passengers around in cities like San Francisco and Austin will someday bolster the energy grid through a deal with B2U Storage Solutions.
Waymo said it will deploy "hundreds of megawatts" of energy storage through the deal, starting with projects in Texas and California. The grid-scale batteries will be able to harness all of the extra energy produced by intermittent renewable sources, and then release that energy during times of high demand. B2U has already launched these sorts of projects across the country; one in California is powered by 1,300 retired EV batteries, and another in Texas combines the energy of 720 packs.
