A battery鈥檚 removal from a vehicle is not necessarily its end of life. Michigan organizations are building the testing, handling, reuse and recycling infrastructure needed to determine the highest and best use at every stage. The NextCycle Michigan Accelerator has supported several organizations working on EV battery reuse and recycling. Funded by the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy (EGLE), this free program provides coaching and mentoring in business and operational planning, access to technical and circular economy expertise, connections to supply chain partners, identification of funding pathways, development of marketing strategies, and much more. These organizations have not only advanced their initiatives with the accelerator鈥檚 support but also have made connections, moving closer to the implementation and scaling of EV battery solutions.
NextCycle Michigan alumni Great Lakes Recycling (GLR), located in River Rouge, Mich., is a 90-year-old, family-owned company that transitioned from ferrous metal recycling to focus exclusively on electronics and EV battery recycling. GLR moved into a 60,000 square foot facility in September 2025, quadrupling its space to scale its battery processing operation. The company can process 100-150 battery packs per day using advanced safety protocols. GLR is pursuing UL1974 certification to become one of only two U.S. companies able to officially certify batteries for reuse.
鈥淢any incoming battery packs are still good with only minor issues like a bad fuse,鈥� said David Kaminski with GLR. 鈥淭esting and certification can extend battery life significantly in second-life applications.鈥�
Every incoming load of batteries is weighed, tagged, categorized, and recorded in an electronic system. Questionable loads are quarantined in shipping containers for safety, while approved loads move to the staging area. The facility is monitored for temperature fluctuations that automatically trigger camera alerts and notify the local fire department.
GLR has improved processes to dismantle standard battery packs in 4-6 minutes and drop voltage in half repeatedly to safe levels. The company focuses on the dismantling work, allowing downstream partners to concentrate on recycling accessory components and extracting black mass.
Through training offered by the Automotive Recyclers of Michigan, GLR earned Level 3 certification to remove battery packs from vehicles. GLR is also working with scrapyards and auto recyclers to increase awareness of safe battery handling and the potential revenue available through responsible battery collection.
GLR is currently partnering with Volt Harbor to emphasize reuse before recycling. They鈥檝e jointly applied for NextCycle grant funding to develop battery testing for reuse as energy storage systems (ESS). ESS can include portable power for construction sites and concerts, grid stabilizers for preventing brownouts, and large-scale systems for electricity arbitrage. 聽鈥淏attery packs at a 75-80% state of health no longer function effectively in vehicles but can be reused in energy storage systems down to a 30% state of health,鈥� added Kaminski. 鈥淭hat provides an additional 50-60% useful life before final recycling.鈥�
Volt Harbor originated from NSF-funded research at the University of Michigan focused on cost-effective reuse for retired EV batteries. Its core software innovation allows ESS modules to utilize various battery makes and models with varying energy capacities, voltage outputs, and degradation without requiring expensive balancing equipment.
The company participated in the NextCycle Michigan accelerator primarily to understand the Michigan ecosystem and make connections with potential partners. The program helped refine their business model and identify blind spots, particularly improving the understanding of the commercial and industrial market and local supply chain.
鈥淭hrough NextCycle Michigan, we met a Michigan-based project developer who is now working with us as a channel partner for sales and handles installation services,鈥� said Al Avestruz with Volt Harbor. Volt Harbor鈥檚 collaboration with GLR would establish a battery supply chain, where GLR would pursue the certifications and processes needed to evaluate batteries for reuse and conduct initial testing, while Volt Harbor would perform additional evaluation and integrate suitable batteries into energy storage systems.
鈥淥ur target market is commercial and industrial facilities, where battery storage costs and electricity costs are particularly high,鈥� said Avestruz. 鈥淭ogether, the UltraCore modules enable power supply and provide multiple integrated functionalities where the grid infrastructure cannot handle demand, reducing the need for expensive grid upgrades.鈥�
Data centers also emerged as a key opportunity, with wildly varying requirements across customers. This can be addressed with Volt Harbor鈥檚 modular, software-defined platform, replacing the front-end Power Stack between grid and the data center with integrated units at a fraction of the cost and footprint while enabling mass customization and rapid deployment.
鈥淩epurposing batteries reduces new battery manufacturing needs, extends existing battery life, enables more EV adoption, and creates a spiral of increasing circular economy benefits,鈥� added Avestruz. 鈥淓V battery reuse has a multiplier effect on sustainability impact.鈥�