FPT Industrial, a leading provider of environmentally-friendly drive solutions, and Reefilla, an innovative startup specializing in mobile charging services, have announced a collaborative pilot project aimed at repurposing batteries from electric commercial vehicles. The project, which promotes sustainability and compliance with European regulations, seeks to give a second life to batteries that are no longer suitable for powering electric vehicles.
The batteries in question are primarily sourced from the eBS37 model, which is installed in IVECO’s eDAILY and minibus vehicles. FPT Industrial, manufacturing these batteries at its ePowertrain plant in Turin, will deliver them to Reefilla once they have reached the end of their service life. Reefilla will then recover the batteries’ modules and more than 50% of their internal components. These components will be incorporated into Reefilla’s Fillee mobile power banks, significantly increasing their charging capacity.
Reefilla, founded in Turin in April 2021, has developed a range of recharging products and services for electric mobility. Currently operating in Turin and Milan, the startup offers predictive mobile charging services to commercial fleets and private users. By utilizing the repurposed battery parts, Fillee power banks can provide green power through photovoltaic recharging centers, ensuring clients’ vehicles are always fully charged on demand.
This collaborative project represents FPT Industrial’s commitment to creating a responsible life cycle for batteries, contributing to a carbon-neutral supply chain for electric mobility. By partnering with Reefilla, FPT Industrial aims to maximize the value extracted from end-of-life batteries while actively promoting the circular economy.
FPT Industrial’s Customer Service has long followed the 5R approach – Repair, Remanufacture, Reuse, Recover, and Recycle – providing customers with comprehensive product management methodologies and services that prioritize both environmental and financial sustainability throughout the entire life cycle.
The partnership between FPT Industrial and Reefilla exemplifies FPT Industrial’s open innovation approach, which fosters collaborations with high-tech startups to drive technological innovation in a sustainable manner. By embracing this agile and successful strategy, FPT Industrial strengthens its position within the industrial ecosystem, aligning itself with innovative businesses and tackling the challenges of the future.
Andrea Cugnini, Head of FPT Industrial’s ePowertrain Business Line, highlights the significance of this pilot project: “In addition to its important consequences in terms of a second life for batteries and sustainability for the entire process, this pilot project with Reefilla demonstrates that multinationals and startups not only can, but indeed must work together to exchange ideas and implement innovative solutions.”
Marco Bevilacqua, Co-Founder & CEO of Reefilla, expresses his enthusiasm for the collaboration, stating, “Innovating means imagining the future in terms of new paradigms; we are delighted to have encountered the same ambition and goals in a big player like FPT Industrial. Bringing Italian industrial excellence into a startup has been anything but simple, but it has been greatly accelerated by a team dedicated to change and with the imagination to realize it – the same values on which Reefilla is founded.”
Upon the successful completion of the pilot project, FPT Industrial and Reefilla plan to enter broader technical and commercial negotiations, further strengthening the synergies between their respective business areas. This collaborative effort represents a significant step forward in promoting sustainability and finding innovative solutions for the repurposing of electric vehicle batteries.
