Bus operator Verkehrsbetriebe Hamburg-Holstein (VHH) has put a stationary powerpack battery made from electric car batteries into operation on its premises in the Hamburg borough of Bergedorf. It consists of 50 discarded VW Passat GTE batteries, each with a storage capacity of 9.9 kWh, connected via a management system to form a powerpack battery with a total capacity of around 495 kWh.

The VHH received the batteries from VW as part of a strategic mobility partnership . The batteries used were no longer powerful enough for use in electric cars, but could still serve well as buffer storage for several years to come. Specifically, for use by the VHH for charging electric buses. The giant powerpack battery is primarily intended to ease peak demand in the depot, which has an impact on grid stability and costs. This is because the relevant grid usage fees are based on, among other things, the maximum power consumed in the billing period in question. Therefore, costs are reduced if electricity is consumed at a constant rate without high peaks.