New project to breathe life into EV battery sustainability

As part of their drive to repurpose EV batteries that have come to the end of their useful life as a means of powering a car, Nissan are partnering with Connected Energy, who design and develop energy storage systems using second life EV batteries.

In April, Nissan announced a  partnership with Ecobat Solutions to investigate how old batteries from Nissan LEAFs could be located, recovered, repaired, recycled or repurposed. to create a sustainable circular energy economy.

As part of the initiative, Connected Energy will lead on the second-life battery element of Nissan’s project, with a multi-megawatt system to become operational in 2025.

Connected Energy currently produces 300-kilowatt systems designed for smaller-scale applications with a plan to scale-up as an increasing number of EV batteries become available.

Matthew Lumsden, CEO of Connected Energy said: ‘Our goal is to develop and demonstrate a pioneering economic model for large-scale second life energy storage systems that can be easily scaled up further and replicated.

‘This will place Connected Energy and our network of partners at the leading edge of second life battery use. Repurposing EV batteries in energy storage is a key contributor to vehicle electrification and sustainability while also helping towards the decarbonisation of the electricity grid.’

Second-life energy storage powered by EV batteries will help overcome power capacity issues on the grid, help buildings with solar arrays to maximise their use of renewable energy and providing energy resilience. Repurposing EV batteries in this way, before they are recycled, significantly reduces their environmental impact.

The project will develop energy storage technology which uses multiple battery types, with different states of health and performance characteristics. 

The energy storage strand is part of the wider £30.1 million consortium project, which includes £15m of Advanced Propulsion Centre UK (APC) funding and aims to strengthen the UK’s capabilities in EV battery reuse, recycling and grid balancing.

The overall consortium is led by Nissan and partners also include lithium battery recycling experts Altilium, alongside Connected Energy.

Matthew Lumsden again: ‘This is a groundbreaking project combining the expertise of the UK’s biggest EV manufacturer, one of the world’s most advanced second life companies, and recycling pioneers Altilium. Bringing together these key players has the potential to create a world first in the creation of a model for true battery circularity.’