Tillbug
batteREstore - From “Trash” to “Treasure”: REpurposing EV Batteries to Extend Their Lifespan in Order to Power Housing Development and Make Energy More Affordable and Accessible for All in Tilburg
BatteREstore is an innovative response to Tilburg’s interlinked energy transition challenges, delivering both social and environmental benefits. The project extends the lifespan of used Electric Vehicle batteries from electric cars. Instead of going to waste, the batteries are reused – first to power equipment on construction sites, and then to provide energy storage for affordable housing communities. This helps make energy more affordable, as residents facing financial difficulties can store energy to use later, enabling smarter energy consumption and ultimately savings on energy bills.
Our main challenges...
Rising construction. With a population rise of 0.8% in 2023, Tilburg’s growth is expected to continue – projected to be 14% by 2050. This creates a need for accelerated affordable housing construction, with 32 000 new homes needed in the coming decades.
Rising grid congestion. Population growth is exacerbating grid congestion, driven by higher energy demands from new construction and expanding household needs. This challenge is further examined through the issuing of energy labels (received by 71,475 households in 2024), which are helpful indicators for future challenges concerning insulation and residual energy measures to process the energy transition.
Rising energy poverty. Linked to the issues of increased energy needs and grid congestion, and often overshadowed by broader infrastructural concerns, this challenge reflects stark disparities in energy access and affordability faced by vulnerable populations. In Tilburg, the number of households facing energy poverty is estimated at 6,400, and this figure is projected to increase to over 14,000 households due to recent inflation and skyrocketing energy and everyday costs.
and proposed solutions
EV battery solution (2nd/3rd life). Turning the car industry’s ‘trash’ into Tilburg’s ‘treasure’ is at the core of BatteREstore’s circular battery solution. After powering cars, used EV batteries can still provide sustainable energy to other sectors for 10-15+ years.
Neighbourhood-level involvement via collective behaviour change. BatteREstore builds on the solution’s technical aspects to capitalise on community centres in three pre-selected neighbourhoods to establish energy hubs and design an energy toolbox.
Municipal embeddedness and business cases for future scale-up. Small-scale testing of the solution in various scenarios and intervention areas, leading to detailed business cases and a new energy governance framework blueprint.
Key figures
Milestones
Testing the long-term repurposing potential of 2nd and 3rd life EV batteries in the construction industry
Tailored awareness raising, capacity building, and training to better sustain neighbourhood-based energy solutions for all
Fine-tuning and preparations for the repurposing of EV batteries to combat energy poverty
Preventing Tilburg’s treasure from becoming trash – Ensuring long-term sustainability, scale-up, and roll-out of the circular battery solution
