When Waymo's robotaxis have logged enough miles and kept pace with technological evolution, those vehicles face retirement. But the company isn't letting their depleted batteries head straight to the scrap heap. Instead, Waymo is partnering with B2U Storage Solutions to give those used EV batteries a second life powering community electricity grids in California and Texas—a move that transforms waste into critical clean energy infrastructure.
As renewable energy capacity grows across the country, a familiar challenge emerges: the sun peaks at midday while electricity demand surges in evening hours. Battery storage bridges that gap, absorbing surplus solar power when production is highest and releasing it when communities need it most. Yet grid-scale batteries are expensive to build from scratch. By repurposing batteries from its all-electric autonomous fleet, Waymo is helping solve this puzzle while keeping functional batteries out of landfills—the essence of a circular economy.
"Rather than heading straight to recycling, our EV batteries will be given a second life," Waymo announced Thursday. The partnership will deploy hundreds of megawatts of storage capacity across the grids serving the company's operating cities. Waymo's first deployments will focus on Texas and California, states where the company operates substantial public robotaxi services.
The timing aligns with a critical moment in both states' energy futures. California is averaging 6.1 hours daily of 100 percent clean power as of 2026, while Texas continues to lead the nation in new solar capacity installation. Expanding battery storage is essential to sustaining this growth. As Adam Lenz, Head of Sustainability & Environment at Waymo, explained: "Through this partnership, we can repurpose our batteries for local grid storage and ensure our batteries continue to provide economic and environmental value to the community long after they've retired from the road."
B2U Storage Solutions brings specialized expertise to the effort. The company uses patented technology to integrate used EV batteries into grid-scale storage systems that can operate for many additional years after leaving vehicles. Freeman Hall, B2U's CEO, described the arrangement as extending the full economic potential of EV batteries. "By extending the use of these batteries as grid storage, we are monetizing the full potential of EV batteries, now providing crucial stability to the power grid as energy demand continues to grow," Hall said.
The partnership reflects a broader shift in how the cleantech industry thinks about electric vehicle supply chains. Rather than cycling batteries through recycling processes as soon as they no longer meet automotive performance standards, second-life battery programs recognize that EVs degrade gradually. A battery that no longer delivers the range needed for a robotaxi can still reliably store and dispatch grid electricity for a decade or more. This approach reduces the energy and expense of mining new battery materials while providing affordable storage capacity at scale.
What makes this announcement particularly significant is that it demonstrates how autonomous fleet operators can amplify their environmental impact beyond simply driving zero-emission vehicles. By managing battery lifecycles strategically, Waymo is weaving its operations into the broader energy transition that communities are undertaking. Each used battery repurposed for grid storage is one fewer battery that must be manufactured from raw materials, and one more tool communities have to integrate renewable energy reliably into daily life.