Portable solar powered electricity supplies using recovered batteries

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Millions of functional rechargeable lithium ion batteries are disposed of each year. Some of these are recycled to recoverthe materials they are made of, but this is expensive and the recovered value is low. A better, and more sustainableapproach, is to identify those batteries that have remaining functional lifetimes and to use them in new applications. Thisproject is developing a process whereby these end of life batteries can be recovered, rapidly tested, and integrated intoportable, low cost, lightweight, solar cell (or grid) rechargeable power supply units that can be used to charge mobilephones and to power low energy lighting. There are around 600 million people globally with mobile phones that have noaccess to electricity at home. To charge them, they often have to walk for many hours to charging stations to connect theirphones to car battery-based chargers; a privilege for which there are high charges. The power supply units developed inthis project will provide low cost energy for phone charging and low energy lighting applications, using a circular economicapproach to the reuse of lithium ion batteries.