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A second life for electric-vehicle batteries poses a challenge for the industry
A big part of the EV supply chain is still being worked out
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A battery is no longer suitable for use in a vehicle once it has been reduced to about 70 to 80 per cent of its original capacity.
PHOTO: REUTERS
Christian Davies
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Mr Nam Juny spent three decades exporting used South Korean vehicles and car parts all around the world before spotting an opportunity in the nascent global battery market.
In 2018, the 57-year-old scrapyard owner, a veteran of defunct conglomerate Daewoo’s trading division, founded Bastro, a Seoul-based start-up that repurposes electric-vehicle (EV) batteries for other uses. His logic is simple: An EV battery dies twice – once when it can no longer power a vehicle, and again when it can no longer power anything else.
