EVwire brief: Waymo is turning its retired robotaxi batteries into clean energy for the grid. The autonomous-driving company has struck a partnership with B2U Storage Solutions to repurpose batteries pulled from its all-electric fleet into grid-scale energy storage, instead of sending them straight to recycling.
The agreement will deploy hundreds of megawatts of storage capacity across the grids serving Waymo's cities, with the first deployments in Texas and California.
Waymo celebrated the project on X:
B2U, founded in 2019, specializes in large-scale energy storage built from used EV batteries. Its systems absorb surplus renewable energy during midday production peaks and send it back to the grid when demand climbs. So far, the company has repurposed over 4,000 EV battery packs, from Nissans, Chevrolets, and Teslas.
There is a reason a robotaxi fleet makes a useful battery supplier. Waymo's cars run for hours at a time, well past what a personal EV sees, so the packs wear out and retire sooner. That high-utilization cycle means an early, steady stream of packs with plenty of storage life left in them.
Waymo states that its robotaxis’ batteries tend to outlast their vehicles
"Through this partnership, we can repurpose our batteries for local grid storage and ensure our batteries continue to provide economic and environmental value to the community long after they’ve retired from the road."
To see the process up close, Waymo and B2U released a video from B2U's Lancaster, California facility, with remarks from both Lenz and B2U CEO Freeman Hall.
Context:
Waymo noted that California averaged 6.1 hours a day of 100% clean power in 2026, while Texas leads the country in new solar capacity. The challenge with solar is what happens after the midday surge, and cheap storage is how that energy gets saved for the evening peak. Repurposed EV batteries are one of the lower-cost ways to add it.
Hundreds of megawatts is utility-grade capacity. B2U stated that the deal will move thousands of retired vehicles' worth of batteries from the road into the power sector, stretching their working life by several years before they are eventually recycled.
Waymo is expected to supply B2U with thousands of EV batteries from its robotaxi fleet
“By extending the use of these batteries as grid storage, we are monetizing the full potential of EV batteries, now providing crucial stability to the power grid as energy demand continues to grow.”
Waymo is not alone in chasing the value left in spent batteries. Recyclers like Redwood Materials have pushed into grid and data-center storage too, but a constantly-running autonomous fleet is an unusually rich, and early, source of supply.
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