A new CEN/CLC Workshop is being established to explore the options of second life batteries in the context of an interoperable Battery Management System (BMS). The Workshop stems from work being done in Battery2Life – a project aiming to bring innovation to the European battery industry.
The Battery2Life project is concerned to answer the growing problem of the transition of batteries to their second life use. It recognises the need for more adaptable systems and smarter design, and the challenge of developing new methods for reconfiguration of used batteries in a way that is efficient and reliable. The consortium draws together partners from research, academia, industry, business, and standardisation. Together they seek to improve technological advances in BMS and system design as well as providing diagnostics for smooth integration into second life applications.
The growth of electric cars in recent years brings with it the problem of what to do with the batteries of these vehicles as they age. Ageing is normal, and is accompanied by decrease in capacity, estimated at 2.3% per year. After approximately 10 years of use, or 160,000kms, the threshold of the nominal capacity lies between 70-80%. This is also known as the First-Life End-Of-Life threshold. But even if the battery no longer fulfils the requirements of its initial automative usage, it is still valuable for other purposes. In fact, the exploitation of the storage capacity in a second-life application can equate to substantial environmental and economic benefits.
The transition between the first and the second life of batteries is challenging. The difference between the first and second life use can mean different systems and functionalities are required. Therefore, adaptability of the BMS is essential. The proposed workshop seeks to develop guidance for interoperable BMSs’, and to introduce a hybrid cloud/edge BMS architecture which will be of benefit for a wide variety of stakeholders committed to the development of second-life battery applications.
Two CWAs will be developed. The first will focus on the latest developments in interoperable BMS technology. The second CWA will present two business use cases; one aimed at industrial load levelling and one at domestic storage application. It is intended that this Workshop will form an important and complementary addition to the work of several Technical Committees, namely CLC/TC 21X “Secondary cells and batteries”, CEN/TC 301 “Road vehicles” and CLC/SR 120 “Electrical Energy Storage (EES) Systems”.
The kick-off meeting for the Workshop is planned to take place remotely on 4 November 2026 from 10.00 am. to 12.00 pm (CEST) (details in agenda document below).
All interested parties are invited to submit comments on the draft Project Plan using the commenting form below, to the Workshop secretary José Antonio Jiménez Caballero (UNE) (jjimenez@une.org) by October 30th, 2026.
For more technical details, please refer to the draft Project Plan, which contains all relevant information. Comments or observations can be submitted via the dedicated commenting form below.
Download the documents:
- Workshop description and draft Project Plan
- Agenda of the kick-off meeting
- Registration form to the kick-off meeting
- Commenting form
