What is inside the Switch Mobility EiV 12 City Bus battery pack
The Switch Mobility EiV 12 City Bus carries a 350 kWh pack built from LFP Prismatic (LiFePO4) cells arranged in 24 serviceable modules at a nominal 640 V. Pack mass lands near 2590 kg including the enclosure, cooling plate, contactors and BMS harness.
Because the cells are LFP Prismatic, the recoverable value profile is dominated by lithium, copper and aluminium rather than nickel and cobalt. That decides whether a retired pack is worth repurposing, refining, or both.
| Parameter | Value |
|---|---|
| Chemistry | LFP Prismatic (LiFePO4) |
| Cell format | Prismatic hard case |
| Energy / voltage | 350 kWh · 640 V |
| Modules | 24 |
| Estimated pack mass | 2590 kg |
| On sale since | 2022 (India, Global) |
Step 1 — Removing and shipping a bus pack
Roof- or floor-mounted packs are lifted by crane or gantry with the OEM lifting frame, one string at a time. Retired packs are UN 3480 or UN 3481 dangerous goods, so the pack must be below 30% state of charge and any deformation, swelling or thermal history declared before pickup.
Packs travel as individual heavy crates on flatbed or curtain-side trailers with load restraint rated for the mass. Bus packs are collected per depot and per retirement window, usually a full trailer per visit.
- Confirm crane or gantry access and lifting frame availability
- Isolate each pack string and record its voltage
- Share pack-string serials against the bus fleet number
- Plan collection around depot operating hours
Step 2 — Module-level state of health grading
Each of the 24 modules is tested independently — a whole-pack SOH figure hides the spread that decides second-life eligibility. We run a full capacity cycle, DC internal resistance measurement and impedance spectroscopy.
Our degradation model for the Switch Mobility EiV 12 City Bus shows how value falls with age. Measured results replace these estimates once the pack is on the bench.
| Service year | Modelled SOH | Grade | Residual value |
|---|---|---|---|
| Year 2 | 96.4% | A — BESS ready | USD 18,397 |
| Year 4 | 93.3% | A — BESS ready | USD 17,818 |
| Year 6 | 90.2% | A — BESS ready | USD 17,239 |
| Year 8 | 87.1% | A — BESS ready | USD 16,660 |
| Year 10 | 84% | B — Second life | USD 14,356 |
Step 3 — What you actually recover
For modules routed to refining, a pack of this size and chemistry typically yields about 58.4 kg lithium, 0.0 kg nickel, 0.0 kg cobalt and 176.6 kg copper.
At 80% SOH our model sends about 56% of the pack to second life, worth USD 9,022, and credits USD 2,187 for the remainder as black mass. Avoided emissions come to roughly 15,655 kg CO2.
Field note
Step 4 — Where to send it and what paperwork you get
Switch Mobility EiV 12 City Bus packs are received directly at 15 intake sites in its markets, including Chakan, Maharashtra, Sanand, Gujarat, Taloja, Maharashtra, Narela, Delhi. From there, modules move to the nearest grading bench and refinery.
Every consignment closes with a certificate showing quantity processed, recovery percentages achieved and downstream vendor disclosure, in the form needed for CPCB EPR filings under the Battery Waste Management Rules 2022. Fleets retiring several Switch Mobility EiV 12 City Bus units should book one consolidated pickup to cut per-pack cost.