MAN plans to establish battery repair centres in several European countries in the coming years
MAN battery repair centres will be established in Italy, Denmark/Norway, Austria, Belgium, Netherlands, France, Poland and UK, with further countries in Europe being planned. The German manufacturer also turns its attention to battery recycling.
MAN Truck & Bus will establish battery repair centres in Italy, Denmark/Norway, Austria, Belgium, Netherlands, France, Poland and UK, with further countries in Europe being planned. Two MAN battery repair centres are already in operation, Germany (Hanover-Laatzen site) and Spain (Barcelona). With the ramp-up of MAN eTruck production, the electric vehicle population will continue to increase significantly in the coming years.
MAN battery repair centres to support e-truck, e-bus and e-van customers
The first battery repair centre and the associated build-up of expertise in the repair of batteries dates back to 2020. It’s important to point out that over 1,000 battery-electric MAN city buses and more than 2,400 all-electric MAN vans are already on Europe’s roads. The first pilot repairs and process documentation were carried out for the battery of the MAN eTGE electric van, which was launched on the market in 2018. This was followed by the battery packs of the MAN eTGM distribution truck, which was launched in a small series in 2020, and the start of series production of the MAN Lion’s City E electric city bus.
The aim of the whole project announced by MAN Truck & Bus is to operate a battery repair hub in every market in which MAN is represented with battery-electric commercial vehicles. Since 2023, MAN has been leading the REVAMP project, a consortium of nine partners from industry and science. This three-year project aims to automate the process of assessing the condition of used vehicle batteries. This knowledge will be used to remanufacture batteries economically so that they can then be used in vehicles (2nd use) or for other purposes (2nd life). The REVAMP project is funded by the Federal Ministry of Economics and Climate Protection (BMWK).
MAN battery recycling project
In order to close the closed loop of valuable battery materials, MAN is already focusing on recycling and the return of recycled raw materials (recyclate) into new battery cells. The use of secondary materials is one of the possible levers that need to be addressed in order to decarbonise the battery cell hotspot. The prerequisite for the battery closed loop is that sufficient recycled material is available. To ensure that this is the case in the future, MAN is currently working with its parent company TRATON SE and the COE (Centre of Excellence) at Volkswagen AG on concepts that will enable closed cycles.
“Battery repair is a necessity for MAN in order to ensure the economic efficiency and operational readiness of our customers’ electric vehicles at a high level. We also make a major contribution to the closed-loop approach of traction batteries, as this extends the battery life in the vehicle, which conserves important resources,” declared Christopher Kunstmann, Senior Vice President Customer Service Management at MAN Truck & Bus.
