The circle of battery life: Oscar Vall at Wire & Gas 2024

InfinitEV business development manager Oscar Vall delivered an insightful Wire & Gas presentation that explored the rapidly evolving field of hybrid and electric vehicle battery repair, refurbishment, repurposing and recycling.

As part of the pioneering InfinitEV team, Vall’s seminar focused on the challenges and opportunities wrought by the increase in vehicles requiring battery pack replacement or repair.

With an emphasis on sustainability and safety, Vall highlighted the advantages of forming a circular economy as the hybrid and EV battery sector grows.

Vall began his presentation by outlining the growing need for hybrid and electric vehicle expertise in Australia. With the increase in hybrid and EV adoption, particularly in urban areas, Vall projected that 20 per cent of the vehicles on Australian roads would have some form of traction battery system by the end of this year whether hybrid, plug-in hybrid, or full battery-electric vehicles.

“Hybrid vehicles are going to be the majority of cars on the road moving forward,” Vall explained.  “If workshops don’t embrace this technology, they risk losing market share.”

He added that many of these vehicles are now reaching the end of their warranties, creating new opportunities for independent workshops.

Safety First

Central to Vall’s presentation was the critical importance of safety when working with traction battery systems that operate in the hundreds of volts.

He warned that improper handling of these batteries could lead to serious injury or even death, especially for technicians unfamiliar with the required safety protocols.

“There’s a significant risk of electric shock and burns if proper personal protective equipment (PPE) isn’t used,” Vall said, outlining essential safety measures like high-voltage gloves, boots, and protective eyewear.

Vall also advised that workshops set up clear safety zones when working on electrified vehicles, ensuring they are treated as live until fully powered down. He stressed the need for proper training, saying that InfinitEV only supplies batteries to workshops that have completed certified high-voltage safety training​.

Diagnosing Battery Failures

Vall provided Wire & Gas attendees some practical guidance on diagnosing battery failures in electrified vehicles.

He explained that hybrid batteries typically fail due to age, temperature or the number of charge cycles, each of which cause them to lose capacity, with extreme temperatures likely to exacerbate this degradation.

“Over time, they eventually start throwing fault codes,” said Vall. He provided specific examples, such as typical fault codes for Toyota’s market-leading hybrids, which often indicate voltage imbalances between cells​.

He also touched on the importance of maintaining thermal management systems, especially for components like inverters, which rely on effective cooling systems to prevent corrosion and overheating​.

Circular Approach

One of the standout topics of Vall’s seminar was the importance of establishing a circular economy for traction batteries, giving the example of InfinitEV’s remanufacturing method of salvaging usable cells from old batteries and assembling them into packs that meet OEM specifications.

“We take old batteries, characterise every cell, and create reusable packs,” he said. “This ensures that all the cells in the battery degrade at the same rate, providing a longer-lasting solution.”

As well as providing a more affordable option for customers, remanufactured packs help reduce demand for new battery materials such as lithium and cobalt, a win for both the environment and long-term availability of supply.

Vall said InfinitEV supplies battery packs fully assembled, including ancillary components like ECUs and cooling fans (referred to as a ‘long pack’) making the replacement process faster and easier for workshops compared with the typical ‘short pack’ supplied by OEMs.

He said one of the reasons was the importance of ensuring all components – especially those related to thermal management – are functioning correctly before replacing a battery pack as failures are not always due to cell degradation alone.

Preparing for the Future

Vall predicted that while nickel-metal hydride battery packs are currently the most common in hybrid vehicles seen by aftermarket workshops, the industry is moving towards lithium-based batteries.

Acknowledging the safety and logistical challenges associated with lithium batteries, particularly in terms of transport and recycling, Vall was confident that the industry would adapt.

“Lithium batteries present new challenges, especially around transport and safety, but they also offer significant improvements in capacity and efficiency,” he said, adding that InfinitEV is already developing lithium-based battery pack replacements, with plans to launch new products for vehicles including Land Rover and Range Rover hybrids in the near future​.

Call to Action for Workshops

Vall concluded by encouraging workshops and technicians to get on a path towards positioning themselves as specialists in a part of the market that is already growing quickly and is about to surge exponentially.

Already, around half of Toyota’s sales volume in Australia is hybrids – single-handedly adding around 10,000 electrified cars to the road every month – while most other brands have introduced hybrid and electric models with plenty more in the pipeline.

New Zealand’s used import scene has also resulted in vast numbers of hybrids entering the aftermarket without factory warranty support, an opportunity InfinitEV has already seized upon by establishing battery remanufacturing facilities on both sides of the Tasman.

Vall warned that many workshops are turning away hybrid and EV jobs simply because they lack the necessary training or confidence to work on these vehicles.

“There’s a huge opportunity in this market,” he said. “Workshops that position themselves as hybrid and EV specialists are already seeing significant growth. Don’t turn these jobs away – get the training, get the tools, and start marketing yourself as a specialist.”