Electricity

Finnish startup retrofitting old Tesla batteries for other energy storage uses

Finnish startup Cactos retrofitting old Tesla batteries other energy storage uses

Photo: Cactos

Published

December 1, 2022

Country

Author

Comments

comments icon

0

Share

Published:

December 1, 2022

Country:

Author

Comments:

comments icon

0

Share

Cactos from Finland gives alternative purposes to second-life electric vehicle batteries. Using its cloud-based software, the startup enables optimisation of energy consumption and helps stabilise the transmission grid.

Generally, EV batteries are replaced when their storage capacity drops to 70% after eight to ten years of use or more than 200,000 kilometres driven. However, they can still be used as storage for renewables before they are recycled. It is where a company called Cactos stepped in.

How it works

Based in Muhos in northern Finland, Cactos operates a fleet of distributed energy storage systems based on smart energy storage units and a cloud computing service. The units are made from used Tesla EV batteries. The Finnish company disassembles and converts them into 100 kWh energy storage units and guarantees its clients a lifetime of 10 years.

Additionally, using an algorithmic-based cloud computing service, Cactos wants to optimize energy consumption and ensure a consistent energy supply during demand peaks or blackouts. The company said its energy units could provide stability to the transmission grid as the units automatically discharge energy in case of a deficit and absorb energy if there is excess production.

Finnish startup retrofitting old Tesla batteries other energy storage uses

Storage units smoothing out temporary imbalances

After almost one year of operation, the Chief Executive Officer of Cactos, Oskari Jaakola, is satisfied. “Energy transition and temporal imbalance in supply and demand mean there is a huge need for demand response and different ways to store energy. Our target was to create an energy storage solution that is carefree for the user and easily accessible. I believe we have succeeded in doing that,” he pointed out.

The company’s current clients are primarily owners or tenants in buildings used in business sectors such as maintenance, industry, hospitality, or retail. Cactos intends to provide storage for locally produced green energy, such as from solar panels, to supply the buildings even when the sun is not shining.

Cactos raises EUR 2.5 million to expand production

Moreover, the company pointed out that the increasing number of electric vehicles creates new challenges for charging locations, like the significant energy consumption peaks from fast charging. The Finnish startup wants to help with its cloud computing service to enable temporary loads that are larger than the connection size would regularly allow.

Cactos offers energy storage units and its cloud computing services at a monthly price. The company has just raised EUR 2.5M in equity and debt to increase its production capacity. Cactos plans to more than double its factory size in early 2023, allowing for nearly a tenfold increase in output.

Comments (0)

Be the first one to comment on this article.

Enter Your Comment
Please wait... Please fill in the required fields. There seems to be an error, please refresh the page and try again. Your comment has been sent.

Related Articles

NGEN commissions Austria’s largest battery storage system

NGEN commissions Austria’s largest battery storage system

13 February 2025 - Slovenia-based NGEN put Austria’s largest battery energy storage system into operation. It installed it in record time – just seven months.

bih natural gas vedran lakic pipelines

Lakić: Natural gas is key energy source for future

13 February 2025 - Vedran Lakić stressed the importance of natural gas for the future of the energy sector in BiH, keeping in mind that the coal phaseout is on the agenda

Data centers threaten derail Europe energy transition

Data centers threaten to derail Europe’s energy transition

13 February 2025 - The expansion of data centers in the EU and UK can strongly increase emissions if they rely even partly on fossil fuels, a new report shows

Croatia nuclear power plants small modular reactors

Croatia mulls nuclear power plants including small modular reactors

13 February 2025 - Croatia founded a workgroup for analysis and legislation that could enable the introduction of nuclear energy in the country