UK researchers have created a battery test that takes just one second – potentially saving millions of EV batteries from unnecessary recycling.
The breakthrough comes from teams at University College London’s Electrochemical Innovation Lab and the University of Oxford’s Department of Engineering Science. Their new diagnostic method can assess an entire battery module’s health almost instantly.
Current testing methods take minutes to hours for a single cell. Testing a complete module often requires days.
The speed difference is remarkable – hundreds of times faster than existing approaches.
The researchers say their technology could keep more batteries in service through second-life applications rather than sending them straight to recycling facilities.
Why This Matters for EV Battery Reuse
Most EV batteries retain significant capacity even after they’re no longer suitable for vehicles. These batteries work well for home energy storage or commercial backup systems.
The challenge has been determining which end-of-life EV batteries are worth repurposing. Traditional testing is slow and expensive.
Professor Paul Shearing, director of the Oxford Martin School Programme on Circular Battery Economies, explained the significance:
One of the biggest barriers to reusing EV batteries is knowing, quickly and accurately, which ones are still good enough. This breakthrough means we can check the health of a whole module in seconds. That makes large-scale reuse viable and will help batteries last longer, perform better and create less waste.
The new method – called multi-channel, multi-frequency electrical excitation response (MMER) – is non-invasive and scales up to test entire battery packs.
It can even perform real-time health checks while batteries charge or discharge.
Real-Time Vehicle Applications
Co-team leader Dr Shangwei Zhou sees potential beyond stationary testing. The speed opens possibilities for vehicle control systems:
The very fast nature of this diagnostic technique allows us to study the batteries while they are actually operating, charging and discharging, which has not been possible before. This could unlock advanced ‘live’ understanding that could be used in the on-board control systems of electric vehicles.
Recent research indicates most EV batteries outlast the vehicles they power.
The researchers project that by 2035, around 150,000 tonnes of EV batteries will reach end-of-road-life annually in the UK alone.
Without better second-life sorting, millions of pounds worth of rare materials could be discarded unnecessarily.
The technology’s impact extends globally. Researchers believe it could help deliver more affordable renewable energy storage to regions in sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia that still lack reliable electricity supplies.
Current second-life battery projects already demonstrate the potential – Rome Fiumicino Airport operates a storage system using 84 end-of-life Nissan LEAF battery packs.
The one-second testing capability could make such projects economically viable on a much larger scale.
