Hell-bent on proving batteries are more than simple means of powering along electric vehicles, Nissan announced on Wednesday that a fleet of e-NV200 cars would become part of the energy grid of a Japanese plant.
Benex, a manufacturer of various industrial equipment and machinery, will launch at its headquarters in Isahaya a green plant project that would include power coming from both solar panels and electric vehicles.
The car’s supplied by Nissan will help stabilize output from the solar power system and reduce the plant's electricity costs by pumping power back into the plant’s grid during times of peak demand. When they are not used in this manner, the e-NV200 will serve their usual purpose, as transportation for the plant’s employees.
Trying as hard as it can to show the world that it will not be drowned in a sea of used batteries in the near future, Nissan also says that when their job at Benex is done, the batteries of the car would be recycled and re-fabricated as components of the energy storage system.
This is not the first time Nissan has tried to get our attention on this subject this year. In March, the carmaker was supposed to reveal a system which would allow batteries initially used on Nissan Leaf vehicles, combined with solar panels, to power streetlights. The test was to take place in the Japanese city of Namie, but unfortunately, for some reason, the carmaker didn’t provide any update on the subject.
Together with partners Renault and Mitsubishi, Nissan tries to position itself at the front of the research efforts into giving second-life uses to electric car batteries.
Theoretically, uses for this hardware are infinite, as they can be used as storage systems for anything from city lights to buildings. And most importantly, even in their first life, batteries can go beyond their initial purpose.
The car’s supplied by Nissan will help stabilize output from the solar power system and reduce the plant's electricity costs by pumping power back into the plant’s grid during times of peak demand. When they are not used in this manner, the e-NV200 will serve their usual purpose, as transportation for the plant’s employees.
Trying as hard as it can to show the world that it will not be drowned in a sea of used batteries in the near future, Nissan also says that when their job at Benex is done, the batteries of the car would be recycled and re-fabricated as components of the energy storage system.
This is not the first time Nissan has tried to get our attention on this subject this year. In March, the carmaker was supposed to reveal a system which would allow batteries initially used on Nissan Leaf vehicles, combined with solar panels, to power streetlights. The test was to take place in the Japanese city of Namie, but unfortunately, for some reason, the carmaker didn’t provide any update on the subject.
Together with partners Renault and Mitsubishi, Nissan tries to position itself at the front of the research efforts into giving second-life uses to electric car batteries.
Theoretically, uses for this hardware are infinite, as they can be used as storage systems for anything from city lights to buildings. And most importantly, even in their first life, batteries can go beyond their initial purpose.