Repurposing EV batteries for sustainable energy solutions: a winning proposal

A team of Evening MBA students at the UW Foster School of Business was among the winners of the 2023 International Business Ethics and Sustainability Case Competition, hosted by Loyola Marymount University. The team’s participation was sponsored by the Global Business Center. Below is an account of the intensely collaborative and creative experience, written by Alex Taylor of the triumphant team.

Electric vehicles (EVs) have become a symbol of environmental progress, but a huge question remains for EV manufacturers: what should they do with the remaining capacity of these batteries before they are properly recycled?

So, being ever-curious Foster students, Colleen Azelby, Kylie Byrd and Alex Taylor set out to solve this real-world problem during the Loyola Marymount University’s International Business Ethics and Sustainability Case Competition.

The competition prompted students to focus on an applicable business case that related to one of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDG). Teams were asked to position themselves as a consulting group, choose a real company and highlight a solution for a potential business problem that would then be presented to LMU judges who acted as figureheads for said company. The presentation had to highlight financial, legal and ethical concerns and how we, acting as “consultants” would mitigate risks for all stakeholders involved in our recommendation.

Our team presented as “4×4 Consulting” to Audi with the solution for Audi to repurpose used EV batteries into community energy storage solutions for low-income Brazilian communities (commonly referred to as “favelas”) through a public-partnership between Audi, Energy Source (a Brazilian company that provides solutions for the generation and storage of clean and renewable energy), and ANEEL (the Brazilian Electricity Regulatory Agency).

You might be wondering: why did we decide to focus on this issue? Or even, how did you come up with this solution?

Taking a step back, our team felt compelled to solve a problem related to clean and affordable energy (UN SDG #7) and sustainable communities and cities (UN SDG #11).

Colleen pitched two separate ideas of alternative batteries for EVs and energy storage solutions. When we did some initial investigating to see if the alternative EV batteries had enough information to support an entire 25-minute presentation, we ended up finding novel use cases of repurposing EV batteries as energy storage solutions for low-income and remote communities. We even found that some other manufacturers had been trying to deploy our solution (specifically GM, Nissan and BMW). So, this gave us further confidence that this problem was something that others were actively exploring and working on.

Participating in a case competition is rewarding and at times frustrating. How much effort you put in plays a big role in determining how well you do—not only in terms of accolades, but in how much you learn about yourself during the process. Our team’s commitment to listening, learning and improving through mentorship brought invaluable personal growth and, ultimately, a winning presentation. By embracing feedback and fostering an environment that values different perspectives, we embodied the true essence of learning and collaboration.

Before diving into our presentation outline, the team sought guidance from Samantha Burh, director of strategic consulting for MBA programs, and Charlie Donovan, visiting professor of finance and business economics and founding director of the Centre for Climate Finance and Investment at Imperial College London. Their input helped the team determine best practices, focus areas and key considerations as they related to financial, legal and ethical implications. With their insights, our team was better equipped to craft a comprehensive and impactful proposal.

Choosing Brazil as our focus market was driven by Alex’s personal experience during her UW undergraduate studies abroad. Witnessing the socio-economic disparities faced by low-income communities, particularly those residing in favelas, sparked our dedication to making a difference, especially as it related to the UN SDG goals we had selected. Six percent (~12.6M) of Brazil’s population live in favelas and those residents lack reliable electricity. The current electrical infrastructure is poorly maintained and leads to unsafe living conditions like improper wire insulation, electric fires and frequent blackouts. In some extreme cases, blackouts can last as long as a month! Brazil’s status as an emerging market, coupled with its growing EV market, and the presence of Audi as an EV market leader in Brazil, solidified that we were definitely on the right track with our idea.

So, we had successfully determined our UN SDG goals, the business problem we were aiming to solve, the market we would be operating in, and the company we would be presenting for.

Perfect. Golden. Easy-peasy. Except…it wasn’t. Since we had drafted our executive summary as a public-private partnership (PPP), we had to analyze the legal, ethical and financial framework not only for Audi but also for ANEEL, Energy Source, and favela residents. We essentially quadrupled our workload. But, in order to keep within the 25-minute parameter, we needed to ensure our presentation was comprehensive yet crisp.

To say that this was overwhelming would be an understatement. To be honest, there was confusion on how the EV repurposing solution was to be properly implemented and how the PPP would be executed. Which goes to show that, just because you think someone hears what you’re saying, it doesn’t always mean that they interpret it in the same way.

So, we ended up needing a few more internal meetings to make sure that everyone was totally aligned with our proposed objective and that everyone could clearly indicate what action items they would be handling for the final deliverable. While this took additional time, it ended up being vital in order for us to work on our sections harmoniously yet asynchronously.

We bumpily made our way to putting together the final presentation. Even though we had put a ton of work into it and thought it was in a pretty good place, we didn’t want to be “just pretty good.” We wanted to be (insert swear word that starts with an “f” here) amazing. We asked Samantha Buhr if we could run it through with her before our Monday time slot and, honestly, we are so thankful we did. Her feedback is what helped us deliver something that, in the end, was engaging and thoughtful. But, above all, it told a compelling story that humanized the ethical, legal and financial framework of it all.

We completely reworked the slides and messaging, which was stressful, time-consuming, and anxiety-inducing. But we were dedicated to seeing this thoroughly and not giving anything less than 100%. We knew that, while it required a lot more work and resolve, this revision was necessary. It would not only make our presentation stronger, but also make us better. And it did. We felt confident and poised during our 25-minute case competition presentation and were able to convey a narrative that cohesively tied everything together. Our work truly paid off, but not without the help of our really great advisors and mentors.

Participating in a case competition is rewarding and at times frustrating. How much effort you put in plays a big role in determining how well you do—not only in terms of accolades, but in how much you learn about yourself during the process. Our team’s commitment to listening, learning and improving through mentorship brought invaluable personal growth and, ultimately, a winning presentation. By embracing feedback and fostering an environment that values different perspectives, we embodied the true essence of learning and collaboration.