OTHERWISE KNOWN AS “LINDEN-ION BATTERIES:” Duke Energy, Itochu To Explore Second Life Uses For Automotive Lithium-Ion Batteries. “Batteries that can no longer function in vehicles could live on in second-life applications for decades instead of adding to the world’s growing piles of discarded trash. In addition, extending the total lifetime of li-ion batteries could help to substantially reduce the overall cost of plug-in vehicles.”