A company that specialises in reusing battery packs from electric vehicles is travelling to the United Nations Climate Change Conference - and is arriving there by train.
Newcastle’s Connected Energy is one of just 12 UK companies that has been selected to attend the event, which is being held in Madrid.
Sales and marketing officer Warren Hayes and energy storage analyst Frazer Wagg will be travelling to the event by rail, meaning it will take them more than 28 hours to arrive at the conference. By taking the prolonged journey Connected Energy will reduce its carbon footprint during its travel.
Matthew Lumsden, Connected Energy’s CEO, said: “We focus on reusing electric vehicle battery packs and therefore maximising the value of already committed natural resources before they are later recycled.
“Our approach to extracting additional value from the finite resources embedded in electric vehicle batteries, and essentially doubling their working lives, is why we’ve been asked to present at the event.
“If electric vehicle batteries were simply recycled after their first life use, value would be lost. Once installed, our technology remotely operates and monitors the second-life batteries to maximise their utility.
“Once they are degraded beyond all usefulness in this application, they are remanufactured and recycled.”
Connected Energy has developed its technology in collaboration with car giants Nissan, Renault, and Jaguar Land Rover as well as Engie.
The firm will be exhibiting in the UK Pavillion during the second week of the conference and was invited to attend by the Department for International Trade as a result of its circular economy approach to battery energy storage.
Government officials, climate activists, and businesses will all attend the event, which is expected to attract around 25,000 visitors over its two weeks.
Mr Hayes said: “I’m really looking forward to the conference, we’re going to be immersed in an environment which is proactively showcasing worldwide leadership on sustainability, it’s a fantastic opportunity.”
Mr Wagg added: “Working at Connected Energy we’re so focused on the circular economy on a day-to-day basis. Being given the opportunity to talk about the work we do to such a powerful audience is a real honour.”
