Retailer Woolworths recently announced it would be rolling out a fleet of electric panel vans in partnership with logistics company DSV in Gauteng, Durban and Cape Town. Both companies should be publicly commended and encouraged to drive the transition to e-mobility in South Africa. However, there’s something that happens in the life of electric vehicle (EV) batteries that must be made known too – rather than becoming an environmental risk, managing used EV batteries properly presents an opportunity to catapult South Africa into the forefront of the circular economy.
In layman’s terms, there comes a time in every EV’s life where the weight of the battery no longer justifies the output. In other words, after many charge and discharge cycles, the battery’s output for mobility is overshadowed by its weight and it must be replaced. No big deal, one may think, just get a new…