Nissan is officially entering the field of commercial energy storage, as the company will reveal on Monday how they plan to reuse old LEAF batteries.
It is only just over a month after Tesla revealed details about the revolutionary home battery– Powerwall, and we already see other big car manufacturers wanting a piece of the energy storage cake too. Mercedes-Benz already came forward with their fully-developed technology, which is even already in use to stabilize small part of the German grid, and it was only a matter of time before the next big competitor appears.
So here it, Nissan, the maker of LEAF- arguably the best selling EVs in the world, is about to introduce their twist into the home battery business. Instead of developing entirely new technologies, however, the automakers plan to make use of old EV batteries and recycle them for commercial energy storage.
Early next week, the company will announce the beginning of their joint venture with the promising start-up Green Charge Network, who specialize in using low-cost batteries to help consumers take care of their own energy use and lower energy bills.
The Nissan home battery is a major step toward even-greener business strategy. The great success of Nissan LEAF over the past few years, was bound to eventually result in old batteries in need of disposal and someone had to do something about it. Nissan still offers the 8-year warranty on their batteries, but the expiration date is fast approaching for the first customers. Now, of course they are not leaving this to chance.
The plan is that by the end of the year (just when Tesla promises to begin delivery of their home battery), Nissan and Green Charge Network will begin installation of the second-hand batteries on order by customers. In fact, one of the first to receive them would be Nissan’s facility in California. Prices are not yet relieved, but the companies promise a very attractive deal for their customers.
This is not the first time Nissan announces that they will do something with the old batteries. Around five years ago, when the LEAF first hit the market and EV-haters increasingly began to make trouble and criticize the manufacturers about lack of strategy for disposal of old toxic batteries, Nissan promised to recycle their batteries to the wind power industry. But now, with the home energy storage idea, they are going even further than this, competing directly with Tesla and Mercedes. I wonder who is next to join in the party.
Image (c) Nissan
