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Designed modular from day one
Battery, e-motor and power electronics are conceived as replaceable modules with standard interfaces.
EU Horizon Europe project · 2026 to 2030
Making electric vehicles last longer
Making electric vehicles last longer, by giving more value and several lives to their components.
BatteryVehicleReused partsNew life
The RELiVE journey
One powertrain, several lives: seven steps to understand RELiVE at a glance.
+50% lifetime−27% TCO−50% raw materials/km
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Sensors watch component health
On-board monitoring tracks the state of health of every module, kilometre after kilometre.
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A weak module is detected
Degradation is spotted early on one battery module, long before it becomes a failure.
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Repair, not replace
Predictive maintenance swaps the single weak module. The vehicle stays in service.
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Years of extra service
The LONGLIFE powertrain targets +50% lifetime: built for taxis, delivery fleets and mobility services.
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Healthy parts get recovered
Magnets, battery modules and e-motor components are recovered and requalified at end of first life.
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A new powertrain is born
Reused components are reassembled into a low-cost SECONDLIFE powertrain, and the loop restarts.
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A circular approach to the electric vehicle
Today, when a battery or an e-motor fails, the whole component, or even the whole vehicle, is often scrapped. RELiVE develops modular, repairable and reusable powertrains so that electric vehicles stay on the road longer, cost less to own, and consume fewer critical raw materials.
Learn how RELiVE works →+0%
powertrain lifetime extension
−0%
total cost of ownership (TCO)
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critical raw materials per km
TRL 0
technology readiness targeted
Two concepts, one goal
LONGLIFE
Vehicles built to last, with a heavily extended lifetime for intensive use: taxis, delivery fleets and mobility services. New materials, modularity and smart maintenance keep them running.
Explore LONGLIFESECONDLIFE
A powertrain with several lives: reliable, low-cost EV powertrains built from refurbished and reused components, such as reused magnets, refurbished e-motors and storage systems, and remanufactured bearings.
Explore SECONDLIFE
Latest news
All news →Why powertrain circularity is the EV industry's next frontier
Batteries get the headlines, but the whole powertrain (magnets, e-motor, power electronics) is where the next circularity gains lie.
Read the articleLONGLIFE and SECONDLIFE: two concepts, one goal
One extends a vehicle's first life by design; the other gives components a second one. Together they close the loop of the electric powertrain.
Read the articleThe RELiVE project officially kicks off
10 European partners, one goal: making electric vehicles last longer. The Horizon Europe project RELiVE is underway.
Read the articleFrom the Knowledge Hub
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Read more10 European partners
Car manufacturers, research institutes, battery and e-motor experts from 6 countries work together to make circular electric mobility real.
RELiVE in six questions
- What is the RELiVE project?
- RELiVE (Reliable & Extended Lifetime for Circular and Modular Battery Electric Vehicles) is an EU research and innovation project developing modular, repairable and reusable electric vehicle powertrains, so that vehicles last longer, cost less to own and consume fewer critical raw materials.
- Who funds RELiVE?
- RELiVE is funded by the European Union's Horizon Europe programme under Grant n° 101270720.
- What are the project's objectives?
- Four quantified targets: extend powertrain lifetime by 50%, reduce total cost of ownership by 27%, cut critical raw material consumption per kilometre by 50%, and demonstrate the results at TRL 6 with full physical demonstrators of the electric drive.
- When does the project run?
- RELiVE runs from April 2026 to 2030.
- Who takes part in RELiVE?
- 10 partners from 6 European countries: CRF (Stellantis Group), IFP Energies nouvelles, FEV, TOFAŞ, Forsee Power, Mondragon University, AIT Austrian Institute of Technology, eMotors, Gemmate Technologies and Zabala Innovation.
- What is the difference between LONGLIFE and SECONDLIFE?
- LONGLIFE designs vehicles with a heavily extended first life for intensive use such as taxis and delivery fleets; SECONDLIFE builds reliable, low-cost powertrains from refurbished and reused components. Both share the same building blocks: modular design, health monitoring and smart maintenance.