Forsee Power and Connected Energy aim at developing energy storage systems powered with 2nd life bus batteries

Connected Energy and Forsee Power have signed a Partnership Agreement to jointly design and develop an energy storage solution powered with second life batteries. This will in fact combine Connected Energy’s second life technology with Forsee Power’s ZEN 35 and ZEN 42 battery packs, which are deployed in about 1,500 electric buses in Europe.

Additionally, the agreement includes the development of an operating model to facilitate future large-scale commercial deployment.

Forsee Power has announced in early 2025 the achievement of the 2024 target of EBITDA break-even, highlighted also during our visit at the company’s plant in Poitiers, France in July 2024 (the plan is for a projected 15% positive EBITDA by 2028).

Forsee Power with Connected Energy

The first 2.5MWh system will be operational in the UK in the final quarter of 2025. Following this first project, it is anticipated that further projects, each typically exceeding 25MWh, will follow in the UK and France, the companies state in a join announcement.

“This agreement with Forsee Power represents a significant step forward in delivering a new second life economy for EV batteries,” said Matthew Lumsden, CEO of Connected Energy. “The availability of second life batteries is increasing rapidly and the best way to realize the value in them is through partnerships that span the value chain. By combining our expertise, we can deliver energy storage technology that delivers greater environmental and commercial benefits as the flow of batteries increases.”

“We are glad to extend our partnership with Connected Energy initiated in 2021, to develop a grid-scale energy storage system using battery packs from electric buses that have completed their first life.” said Christophe Gurtner, Chairman & CEO of Forsee Power. Our company’s vision is to develop a sustainable battery ecosystem to maximize the value of our batteries throughout their lifetime and contribute to the mitigation of climate change. Forsee Power, the leader of battery systems for buses outside of China, has equipped more than 4,200 buses. Thus, we have and will have access to a significant number of batteries once they complete their first life. As a consequence, the potential is huge.”