Jaguar Land Rover has announced it is developing a solution that will give the batteries from its I-Pace electric car a second life as a portable charging unit. 

The British brand has partnered with energy firm Pramac to use batteries from the firm’s old EVs as a new power source. 

Pramac’s technology will see I-Pace lithium-ion batteries – which are currently going to just be from the firm’s prototype and engineering test vehicles – used to help power a mobile electricity source. These are designed to be used in places where electricity supply is limited or unavailable. 

The company is said to be able to reuse up to 85 per cent of the vehicle batteries from the I-Pace within the unit, with the remaining materials ‘recycled back into the supply chain’.

This flagship charging system has a capacity of up to 125kWh, which Jaguar Land Rover says is enough to power a family home for a week. The unit is self-contained and is recharged from solar panels, and is said to already be available for commercial hire, where it can be used to charge electric cars at up to 22kW.

The charging unit has already been used by the Jaguar TCS Racing team to power diagnostic equipment for its Formula E racing cars, and also to supply auxiliary power to the Jaguar pit garage. A unit is also being sent to its Experience Centre in Johannesburg, South Africa, as the site is said to suffer from ‘inconsistent power delivery from the mains’. 

Andrew Whitworth, battery manager of the circular economy team at Jaguar Land Rover, said: “This announcement is a great example of how we will collaborate with industry leaders to deliver our sustainable future and achieve a truly circular economy. 

“We’re delighted to be working with Pramac to use Jaguar I-Pace second-life batteries to provide portable zero-emissions power and supporting Jaguar TCS Racing this season was an excellent opportunity to demonstrate what these units are capable of.

Jaguar launched its I-Pace in 2018, and announced last year it will solely build electric cars from 2025.  As part of this, the firm says it will launch a range of programmes that ‘deliver second life and beyond uses for its electric vehicle batteries’.