Unassuming Container Gives Second Life To Totaled Tesla Batteries

The Fellten Charge Qube acts as a huge battery generator thanks to repurposed packs from high-mileage or damaged EVs.

Photo by: Hazell Nuts (YouTube)

By: Iulian Dnistran

Mar 8, at 10:00am ET

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The Fellten Charge Qube uses old EV batteries to charge other EVs.
It gives a second life to high-mileage or damaged batteries that are otherwise healthy.

There’s a good chance that you heard about electric vehicles being totaled left and right because of insurance companies not wanting to pay for repairs.

The truth is, oftentimes the high-voltage battery pack, the most expensive component of an EV, is fine. So instead of throwing a perfectly healthy battery in the landfill, wouldn’t it be nice if it could power something else?

That’s exactly what United Kingdom-based Fellten is trying to do with the Charge Qube. To summarize, it’s half of a 20-foot sea container that’s filled with entire EV battery packs. It can be a huge off-grid generator, on-grid helper or fleet charging station. It comes with all the components needed to make all of this happen, and it’s customizable.

For starters, one could use any battery pack, not just those extracted from high-mileage or damaged Tesla Model 3s, as is the case with the unit in the video embedded below. Anything from BYD to Volkswagen works. Then, there are multiple options for exporting power and the number of EV chargers installed: single- and three-phase inputs and outputs, space for up to six battery packs in the small version, and up to 36 Level 2 chargers on the large version. That’s perfect for an EV fleet.

With a small unit filled to the brim with Model 3 batteries—roughly 450 kilowatt-hours of energy—the Charge Qube can also function as a DC fast charger with up to 240 kilowatts available to export. It’s an all-in-one solution that can absorb energy from the grid when prices are low and dispense electricity when prices are high. It can charge the batteries with solar power, and it can keep the lights on (and the vehicles charging) in case of an outage.

It’s a pretty cool solution that uses ready-made components and, more importantly, prolongs the life of used EV batteries.