Nissan Teams up with EDF on Second-life Battery Applications

Nissan has partnered with EDF Energy, the company’s long-term supplier in UK to collaborate on second-life battery applications. The two companies signed a new partnership agreement according to which they would first explore how second-life Nissan electric vehicle (EV) batteries can be used to support demand-side management. They would see if it would be feasible to recycle retired batteries from Nissan LEAF for commercial battery storage.

As part of the project, they would work on storing electricity in the batteries and then releasing it back into the using EDF Energy’s PowerShift. This would help them to react quickly to any demand side response (DSR) initiatives. When compared to coal and gas powered power stations, such battery storage systems offer a lower carbon alternative when it comes to meeting peaks of electricity demand on the grid.

The combined system will be tested to evaluate its effectiveness in terms of supporting on site generation, greater control and flexibility over energy use, and provision of additional revenue streams.

Though we are still in October, already in 2018, more lithium-ion batteries have been installed in electric vehicles than in consumer electronics. With the demand for electric vehicles slated to increase, there will be millions of used electric vehicle batteries that will be available for the energy storage market. These batteries can still be used as they would have as much as 70 percent of their original capacity and can be used for another 10 years at least.