Used electric car batteries could find a new lease of life on wind farms, the Sunday Times reported this week.
According to the publication two of the world’s biggest carmakers-Nissan and General Motors (GM)-are working on plans to sell used batteries to wind farms. It is hoped that such a move that could help slash the cost of buying an electric car.
Electric car batteries-especially lithium-ion types-are expensive to produce and buy, thanks to the host of costly and rare materials used to make them. As they would no longer be suitable to use once the battery capacity falls below 70 per cent-at which an electric vehicle’s range would become seriously compromised-it is hope that they could still be of use in the production of renewable energy.
Nissan has already set up a business in Japan to process old batteries called 4R.
Old batteries could be used to store power generated by wind turbines at off-peak times, when it is not required for use. The batteries could also be utilised for emergency power supplies and at solar power production site too.
Electric cars batteries are so costly that many carmakers are intending to lease rather than sell them. While, as the batteries age they become unsuitable for electric car use, they can still retain a useful capacity for other uses.
Batteries used in cars such as the Nissan Leaf and Vauxhall Ampera will be expected to last for around 10 years or 150,000 miles before they need replacing.
In Nissan’s current battery recycling scheme, the carmaker aims to lease batteries separately from the cars in most countries, retaining ownership before they re transferred to 4R for recycling.
Both Nissan and GM will launch electric car models in the UK soon. Nissan will launch its LEAF model in 2011 while the range-extended Ampera from GM-owned Vauxhall will go on sale in 2012.
