A Berlin startup recycles decommissioned battery packs from electric cars and brings them to Ukraine. In their second life as an emergency generator, the batteries save lives.
On November 23, 2022, it was getting dark in Ukraine: that day, Russia shot down 70 cruise missiles at the critical infrastructure of its neighboring country. Although the Ukrainian air defense took 51 of them out of the sky in time, the power grid, which had already been badly damaged, collapsed completely under the wave of attacks. In the western Ukrainian city of Netishyn, the nearby nuclear power plant had to shut down for safety reasons, and the city's 40,000 residents were without electricity, water and heat for days, as the mayor wrote on Facebook.
The situation in the local hospital was particularly dramatic at the time: halfway between Lviv and Kiev and thus far away from the front, Netishyn is a port of call for thousands of internally displaced persons, so the medical supply situation is tense even without a power failure. With the start of the Russian attacks on the Ukrainian energy infrastructure in October, the permanent state of emergency began in the hospital: planned operations were no longer possible, and emergency care was also at risk. Since the end of December, with the help of the Ukraine 2 Power initiative, at least a little more security has returned to Netishyn.
Since then, four emergency generators made from recycled e-car batteries, manufactured by the Berlin startup Betteries, have been supplying the hospital with the most necessary electricity in combination with a solar system. Two to four of the batteries in connection with a hand truck and a handful of electronics: the mobile generator is ready. "This means we can easily bring electricity to the places in Ukraine where it is most urgently needed: to hotspots such as schools, operating rooms, wherever," says Betteries founder Rainer Hönig.
The second life of the decommissioned e-car batteries as an emergency generator should last ten years. "We can combine the individual packs like Lego bricks," explains Hönig. The four systems for Neteschyn were only the beginning: A total of up to 1,000 "power islands" should ultimately supply heat rooms and air raid shelters with electricity, at a total cost of around five million euros.
In order for them to come together, Betteries works with We Aid: the non-profit organization helps private initiatives such as Ukraine 2 Power to organize donations and create a legal framework so that the funds get to where they are needed. "Private commitment is often implemented with passion, but well-intentioned does not automatically mean well done," says Nataliia Fiebrig, who coordinates the aid project. "We support people who want to do good and can't wait weeks for approval from the authorities. In the event of a disaster, there's simply no time for that."
After the successful test run in the Netishyn hospital, the next systems have already been shipped to the Ukraine. Thanks to a major donation from the RTL Foundation of around 187,000 euros, a total of nine hospitals, schools and kindergartens will be supplied with electricity in just a few weeks, even in an emergency: in Polonne not far from Netischyn and in the towns of Kolichivka and Ivanivka in northern Ukraine.
