- Nissan Leaf batteries get a second life
- Nissan expects to use the battery packs from 50-60 Leafs
- The project is expected to reduce annual carbon dioxide emissions by 3.7 tons
Used Nissan Leaf batteries will help power the US automaker's headquarters in Franklin, Tennessee.
The automaker announced Thursday that it is adding two battery systems at its headquarters, just outside of Nashville, that will charge during off-peak hours and provide power during periods of peak electricity demand, helping to balance the grid by keeping electricity demand flowing. The office building is flexible while reducing emissions.
Top shaving with second life Nissan Leaf batteries
The installation consists of two assemblies that use battery components from estimated at 50-60 Leaf electric cars. One consists of multiple 40-kwh Leaf battery packs adding a total capacity of 500 kwh, while the other uses individual modules.
Nissan anticipates carbon dioxide emissions every year down to 3.7 tons per year from the project. Experts will study battery installation for at least one year, with a particular focus on how used batteries perform under different life conditions. The automaker will also work with Middle Tennessee Electric to study potential demand response applications, similar to projects already underway by General Motors and Ford, to reduce electricity demand at power plants.
Nissan's American headquarters in Franklin, Tennessee
This is not the first second life battery project Nissan has started. In 2015 the automaker introduced a program to supply used Leaf battery packs to stationary energy storage units in the US, and tested the idea in Europe and Japan. Other car manufacturers have done the same. Porsche, for example, uses Taycan batteries to help power one of its factories.
Focus on The second life of EV batteries assumes that most batteries will be left when the vehicles they are installed in reach the end of their useful lives. But it may take some time for EV vehicles to reach a size large enough to provide batteries for anything other than modest projects like this Nissan effort. And with the prices of raw materials fluctuating and the geopolitical and environmental issues surrounding their availability, there is debate about whether reusing or recycling is the better option.