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20-Jan-2012

PHOTO CAPTION: Nissan LEAF battery will have estimated 70% capacity after 10 years.

Nissan Partners To Explore Second Life for LEAF Battery

Nissan North America has teamed up with ABB, 4R Energy and Sumitomo Corporation of America to figure out the best way to store and reuse the batteries

The Nissan LEAF has only been on the market for a year, but that doesn’t mean its future isn’t being considered. As surprising as it may be, no electric vehicle can last forever and accompany their end dates is a rather interesting conundrum. The lithium-ion battery that gives live to the LEAF isn’t a standard battery and therefore can not be treated as such. For this reason, Nissan North America has teamed up with ABB, 4R Energy and Sumitomo Corporation of America to figure out the best way to store and reuse the batteries once the LEAFs have been “used”.

“Innovations in energy storage systems are becoming more viable as the electric grid gets smarter, and Nissan is proud to work with ABB, 4R Energy and Sumitomo to help bring these possibilities to market,” said Ken Srebnik, senior manager for Nissan North America Corporate Planning. The current working plan is to enlist the batteries to serve residential and commercial applications. An energy storage system that could hold power during times of low usage and then return that energy when a power grid’s demand is high is one potential job for the EV powerplants. Hopes are to create a lithium-ion battery storage prototype with a capacity of at least 50 kilowatt hours. With that power, 15 average sized homes could be powered for up to two hours.

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