Episode 1.07 On Stewardship of Aging Assets and Reuse with Zora Chung

Power Flow

Battery energy storage is getting a great deal of press because of the way it is revolutionizing transportation and vehicle electrification as well as how it enables higher penetration of non-dispatchable renewable energy generation, both in front of and behind the meter.

But questions about battery end of life plague the technology.
Are batteries recyclable? What happens to batteries whose performance is no longer sufficient for the rigors of electric vehicles? Could EV batteries have a second life in a stationary application?
In order to answer these questions, we need to be able to assess the health of batteries. Zora Chung is doing exactly that with ReJoule -- greatly expanding and standardizing battery state of health measurements to give batteries a second life and create a circular economy for batteries.

As a data scientist, I believe that knowledge is power, and more data allows us to make better decisions for consumers and for the planet.

Episode 1.04: On EV Infrastructure and Green Workforce Development with Kameale Terry is referenced often.

Quotables

“We need to open up that black box [on measuring battery life] and understand it. One way we need to do that is through standards. If everybody is speaking a different language, opening that black box is more like a Pandora’s box.”
"People think in binaries, that either it works or it doesn't work. But how do you define what works?"
“Everybody has a role they can play... you can have an impact. As long as you get started, your impact will start to grow.”

All quotes above by Zora Chung

This week’s guest

Zora is the cofounder and CFO at ReJoule, a battery diagnostics and optimization startup with a mission to reduce battery waste and enable the circular economy for batteries.

Before founding ReJoule in 2017, she spent 13 years in corporate finance at Clorox and Walmart eCommerce. She's created long-range strategic and financial plans, negotiated contracts, and evaluated new and existing business models and optimized them for scalable growth.

At ReJoule, she manages "all things non-technical" and has helped ReJoule secure almost $5M in non-dilutive grants. Their biggest grant is a $3M project funded by the California Energy Commission to repurpose used electric vehicle batteries in a second-life application.

Resources:

Connect with ReJoule on LinkedIn, Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter.
Check out ReJoule’s website and watch this micro documentary on ReJoule.
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Thank you for listening. See you at the whiteboard!