ABB announced this week that it has formed a partnership with Nissan, 4R Energy and Sumitomo Corp to evaluate the reuse of Nissan Leaf lithium-ion battery packs in energy storage systems.

No, EV batteries don’t wear out as fast as laptop batteries, whatever scare stories you may have heard. But they do wear out – after ten years of use in a car, a typical battery might have about 70 percent of capacity remaining, which most drivers won’t find acceptable (and in ten years, there’s bound to be a better battery available anyway). However, these second-time-arounders may still be useful for other storage applications.

European electronics giant ABB announced this week that it has formed a partnership with Nissan, 4R Energy and Sumitomo Corp to evaluate the reuse of Nissan Leaf lithium-ion battery packs in energy storage systems. Innovative energy storage solutions are expected to become a key component of the smart grid, boosting reliability and helping to integrate renewable energy sources, such as wind and solar, into the grid.

“The agreement will allow us to evaluate the commercial viability of a grid storage solution and develop a prototype to effectively reuse Nissan Leaf batteries,” said ABB’s Bruno Melles. “We look forward to working with our partners to take electric vehicle battery energy storage technology a step further.”

“It’s important to Nissan that we manage the complete lifecycle of the electric vehicle battery pack, even beyond its use in a Nissan car,” said Ken Srebnik of Nissan. “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.”

Image: Nissan