What is inside the Tata Motors Starbus EV 12m battery pack
The Tata Motors Starbus EV 12m carries a 250 kWh pack built from LFP Prismatic (LiFePO4) cells arranged in 20 serviceable modules at a nominal 600 V. Pack mass lands near 1850 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 | 250 kWh · 600 V |
| Modules | 20 |
| Estimated pack mass | 1850 kg |
| On sale since | 2021 (India) |
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 20 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 Tata Motors Starbus EV 12m 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 | 96.3% | A — BESS ready | USD 13,128 |
| Year 4 | 93.2% | A — BESS ready | USD 12,714 |
| Year 6 | 90.1% | A — BESS ready | USD 12,301 |
| Year 8 | 87% | A — BESS ready | USD 11,887 |
| Year 10 | 83.9% | B — Second life | USD 10,195 |
Step 3 — What you actually recover
For modules routed to refining, a pack of this size and chemistry typically yields about 41.7 kg lithium, 0.0 kg nickel, 0.0 kg cobalt and 126.2 kg copper.
At 80% SOH our model sends about 56% of the pack to second life, worth USD 6,444, and credits USD 1,562 for the remainder as black mass. Avoided emissions come to roughly 11,182 kg CO2.
Field note
Step 4 — Where to send it and what paperwork you get
Tata Motors Starbus EV 12m packs are received directly at 8 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 Tata Motors Starbus EV 12m units should book one consolidated pickup to cut per-pack cost.