Reefilla & FPT launch 2nd life project with spent Iveco batteries
The drive manufacturer FPT Industrial is cooperating with the Turin-based start-up Reefilla in order to put batteries to subsequent use in electric vehicles at the end of their service life – in stationary storage units for charging stations.
Specifically, the eBS37 battery pack will be delivered to Reefilla after use in Iveco’s eDaily and minibus, so that the company can recondition the batteries and then use them as part of its mobile charging service for e-vehicles, according to Iveco Group. Also important for the companies involved, “The proposed solution also assures full sustainability and compliance with new European regulations,” Iveco states.
FPT assembles the eBS37 batteries at its ePowertrain plant in Turin, where it also manufactures electric axle drives for light and heavy commercial vehicles, minibuses and high-performance cars. After use in the vehicle, they will be delivered to Reefilla, according to the agreement, and the start-up will recycle the battery modules and more than 50 per cent of the other components.
The modules and components are to be installed in the so-called ‘Fillee’ power banks from Reefilla. These in turn are used to charge electric vehicles. “By using parts from the high- performance eBS37 batteries, Reefilla counts on significantly increasing the charge capacity of its Fillee power banks,” Iveco writes. Technical details about the storage units are not given, however.
Reefilla was founded in April 2021 as part of a startup incubator programme in Turin. The company has developed an ecosystem of charging products and services for electric mobility, offering predictive mobile charging services for commercial fleets and private users from its locations in Milan and Turin.
Iveco Group officially became an independent, publicly traded company again at the beginning of 2022. Previously, the commercial vehicle manufacturer itself belonged to CNH Industrial for years – as did FPT. This explains the connections between the Italian companies, even though Iveco and FPT are no longer officially part of the same group.
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