Some of Waymo's swanky Jaguars will retire. Why the Texas power grid will reap the benefits.
Some of Waymo's first Texas robotaxis are headed for retirement soon. Their batteries, however, will get a second life on the electric grid.
The Alphabet-owned autonomous vehicle company announced a partnership with B2U Storage Solutions, a California-based energy storage company that repurposes old vehicle batteries to help power local electricity grids.
Waymo, which is taking steps to cut costs and rapidly scale deployment of its driverless vehicle fleet, plans to retire some of its Jaguar I-Pace AVs later this year. The company currently operates more than 450 robotaxis in Texas, including about 300 in the Austin metro area, according to the company's website.
Those vehicles will be replaced with new Waymo robotaxis, according to a company blog post. Earlier this month, Waymo launched one of its new robotaxi models for select riders in California and Arizona. The minivan-like robotaxis, dubbed Ojai, are essential to the company's cost-cutting and scaling goals. Ojai and Waymo's previously announced Hyundai Ioniq 5 will begin to replace Waymo's Jaguar SUV robotaxis over time.
The partnership is launching first in Texas and California, with the company saying it expects to "deploy hundreds of megawatts of storage capacity over time."
Retired Waymo batteries will support Texas grid storage
"Our shared fleet of EVs provide a massive opportunity to support the growth of clean energy on the electricity grid while expanding the circular economy," Adam Lenz, head of sustainability and environment for Waymo, said. "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."
The battery packs from Waymo will plug into the grid and capture excess renewable energy flowing through the grid, B2U said. The batteries will store that energy and dispatch it back into the grid during times of peak demand, which typically occur in mid-to-late afternoon in the summer months.
Grid-scale batteries have become an increasingly important source of electricity capacity, especially as power demand grows because of climate change and the rise of energy-hungry data centers. The Electric Reliability Council of Texas estimates statewide power demand will exceed 22,000 megawatts by 2030, with a significant share coming from large-load data centers.
Batteries have helped ERCOT manage periods of peak demand, according to ERCOT and the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas. ERCOT had more than 14 gigawatts of grid-scale battery storage in 2026, roughly double the amount available a year earlier.
Waymo said the partnership supports its broader goal of reducing carbon emissions.
Last month, a social media video showed Uber charging part of its Waymo robotaxi fleet with generators near Lady Bird Lake. Waymo robotaxis have been lining up at a "temporary" charging station in a parking lot off South Congress Avenue, Uber said. Some residents say the operation is noisy near the Ann and Roy Butler Hike-and-Bike Trail and have raised concerns about potential environmental impacts from chargers located close to the water.
The chargers are far from the only pushback Waymo has seen in recent months, as many social media videos have made the rounds online showing some of the cars driving erratically or obstructing first responders.
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