Abstract
Developed societies with advanced economic performance are undoubtedly coupled with the availability of electrical energy. Whilst industrialized nations already started to decrease associated carbon emissions in many business sectors, e.g., by substituting combustion engines with battery-powered vehicles, less developed countries still lack broad coverage of reliable electricity supply, particularly in rural regions. Progressive electrification leads to a need for storage capacity and thus to increasing availability of advanced battery systems. To achieve a high degree of sustainability, re-used batteries from the electromobility sector are appropriate, as they do not consume further primary resources and still have sufficient residual capacity for stationary electrical storage applications. In this article, a blueprint for the electrification of a remote region by utilizing second-life lithium ion traction batteries for an integrated energy system in a stand-alone grid is presented and the implementation by the example case of a Tanzanian island in Lake Victoria is demonstrated. First, economic potentials and expected trends in the disposability of second-life lithium ion batteries and their foreseeable costs are outlined. Subsequently, key decision variables are identified to evaluate logistic aspects and the feasibility of the implementation of an off-grid electrical system in remote areas for economically and geographically unfavorable environments. The practical realization is pictured in detail with a focus on technical performance and safety specificities associated with second-life applications. Therefore, a new type of battery management system is introduced, which meets the special requirements of climate compatibility, low maintenance, enhanced cell balancing capability and cell configuration flexibility, and combined with a fiber-optical sensor system, provides reliable status monitoring of the battery. By carrying out on-site measurements, the overall system efficiency is evaluated along with a sustainability analysis. Finally, the socioeconomic and humanitarian impact for the people on the island is debated.
Highlights
Great efforts are being made in all parts of the world to replace fossil fuels for power generation and in the transportation sector by renewable energy sources
The major disadvantages of the lithium ion battery include high purchase price, uncertain availability of rare raw materials required for production and unclear recycling potential
Even if the assembly and operation of energy systems in rural areas may not be economically viable without supporting subsidies, they, in turn, constitute an enormous development potential for the regions concerned and represent major humanitarian progress, above all, through the support for the healthcare and education sectors. In view of this fact, the aspiration of this article is to present a comprehensive approach for the construction and subsequent realization of stand-alone power grids with second-life lithium ion batteries as energy storages in tropical and remote regions, using the concrete example of the island of Kibumba in the southwestern Lake Victoria in Tanzania
Summary
Great efforts are being made in all parts of the world to replace fossil fuels for power generation and in the transportation sector by renewable energy sources. Even if the assembly and operation of energy systems in rural areas may not be economically viable without supporting subsidies, they, in turn, constitute an enormous development potential for the regions concerned and represent major humanitarian progress, above all, through the support for the healthcare and education sectors In view of this fact, the aspiration of this article is to present a comprehensive approach for the construction and subsequent realization of stand-alone power grids with second-life lithium ion batteries as energy storages in tropical and remote regions, using the concrete example of the island of Kibumba in the southwestern Lake Victoria in Tanzania.
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