In the midst of the electric vehicle boom that Medellín is experiencing, where sales of these cars grew by 169% in the last year, it is inevitable to ask: what happens to the gigantic batteries of these vehicles when they stop working or when they no longer have the performance they need to give a car autonomy for hundreds of kilometers?
The answer most of the time, especially in Colombia, is waste, but BatX uses what for the automotive industry is waste, as the input for a new source of clean energy.
Founded in September 2020 by Pablo Castellanos and Alejandro Camargo, two friends who started working on the idea when they were still Eafit university students, this company has achieved something that seemed unthinkable a few years ago: diagnose, repair and reconfigure electric vehicle batteries so that they light up homes or support industries through solar energy.
A battery in an electric car or bus, designed to move tons and climb the hills of Medellín, is usually replaced when its performance drops, although it still retains much of its charging capacity and can continue to function in other things, such as a solar panel or an electric bicycle.
Currently, the country recycles less than 1% of used batteries and depends almost entirely on the import of these supplies. Experts warn that the number of electric vehicles rolling today already exceeds the installed capacity of the national waste management system.
Read also: “Price is decisive for the consumer”: this is how BYD will face competition from Tesla and other brands of electric cars in Colombia
“We are using these batteries, which is a critical technology for the energy transition, which is expensive, which requires a very important logistics network, as if it were a single-use plastic,” explains Pablo Castellanos, co-founder of BatX.
For Castellanos, the current model is unsustainable: “Almost no one replaces a battery. If it is damaged and has a warranty, they can do something, and if not, garbage.” That’s where BatX saw the opportunity. They developed and patented their own diagnostic methodology—a kind of “X-ray” for batteries—that allows them to know exactly the state of health of each cell.
But the process does not consist of recycling by destroying the material, but rather making a new and good quality product with materials reused from other uses; It is technological remanufacturing. “It’s not about disconnecting it from the car and connecting it at home, because many people say: ‘No, that’s a second chance’… Not at all. It’s a high-quality, highly engineered new product, simply made from recycled materials,” Castellanos clarifies.
Once the battery is diagnosed and reconfigured, it finds its second home in photovoltaic energy systems. A solar panel only generates energy when there is sun, but homes and businesses also need electricity at night, which is why a battery that stores energy is important.
“A panel is not going to give you electricity at night. A battery is going to give you electricity every time you need it,” says the co-founder, adding that their systems work as a ready-to-use energy reserve, similar to a gas tank, but clean.
What is surprising is the longevity they manage to rescue. As Castellanos explains, a battery can last more than 8 years in a car and, thanks to its process, serve more than 10 years in “stationary” mode (use in solar panels or backup), thus doubling the useful life of lithium and avoiding the mining necessary to manufacture a new one.
The growth of companies like BatX goes hand in hand with the reality of the country. Colombia has established itself as a regional leader in electric mobility, and Medellín contributes more than 20% of this national trade. With electric public transport fleets and a private market on the rise, the number of batteries that will go out of circulation in the coming years will be massive.
“The number of electric vehicles in the country today is much higher than the capacity of the waste management system in Colombia,” warns Castellanos, pointing out the environmental risk if these components that can cause fires or contaminate aquifers are not managed.
The company, which operates from a warehouse in Guayabal, in which it shares the ecosystem with other sustainable startups, recently received an investment from the private equity fund of Grupo EPM, although they remain autonomous and independent.
“We are not an EPM brand nor are we governed by EPM. We are an independent company, but we receive capital, because EPM knows that part of the great challenges of the future is how to ensure that the country has energy storage,” says Castellanos.
Currently, the company works with big players such as Auteco, Celsia and Erco, and has a team of 12 people, mostly young engineers from local universities.
Read also: Electric mobility gains ground: 71% of electric vehicle drivers would choose them again, according to a study
BatX represents a paradigm shift. They have managed to demonstrate that the circular economy is not just an environmental concept, but a profitable business model that reduces costs—their batteries can be up to 30% cheaper than new imported ones—and reduces technological dependence on Asia.
As Castellanos concludes, the goal is to avoid waste: “It does not mean that the battery as such is bad, that it is spoiled, that a giant energy storage potential should be thrown away, but rather that it can be reconditioned and put to other uses.”
In a country that continues to discuss how to make a fair energy transition, solutions like BatX’s demonstrate that the future of energy lies not only in generating it, but in knowing how to save it and not waste it.
