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Nissan Leaf Batteries to Power Brazilian Homes

Ever since it launched the Leaf electric vehicle in 2010 and became the world’s first established carmaker to sell such a technology, Nissan has been trying to find ways to reuse the batteries of the EV once they become too worn out for motoring.
Nissan Leaf batteries find new use in Brazil 1 photo
Photo: Nissan
What will happen to the EV batteries once they're used up is a question still unanswered in the automotive industry. Simply throwing them away might do more harm the battery did good while in operation, so finding a way to keep them in use needs to be found.

Back in March, Nissan said it will detail the ways in which Leaf batteries could be used to power streetlights in the Japanese city of Namie. For one reason or another, it failed to do so.

This week, the idea has been revived across the Ocean, in Brazil. With the help of the Federal University of Santa Catarina (UFSC), Nissan will be trying to see how it can use second-life Leaf batteries for various projects.

Six used EV batteries will be supplied to the UFSC, which will test them as household storage systems for power generated off the conventional grid. Initial numbers point to the fact that a Leaf battery could power an average Brazilian household for up to three days.

"Worldwide, Nissan has been forming partnerships with the purpose of integrating electric vehicles with society and promoting electric mobility," said in a statement Nissan Brazil president Marco Silva.

"Upon removal, the batteries retain a high charging and supply capacity. In Brazil, joint efforts alongside researchers of the Federal University of Santa Catarina will be essential for testing the batteries' full potential."

Nissan is not the only carmaker researching possible uses for car batteries. The two other companies in the Alliance, Renault and Mitsubishi, have their own plans as well.

Renault is at work testing a vehicle-to-grid (V2G) charging system in the Portuguese Madeira Islands, while Mitsubishi has already deployed an Outlander PHEV to power Engie’s office building in Zaandam, The Netherlands.
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About the author: Daniel Patrascu
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Daniel loves writing (or so he claims), and he uses this skill to offer readers a "behind the scenes" look at the automotive industry. He also enjoys talking about space exploration and robots, because in his view the only way forward for humanity is away from this planet, in metal bodies.
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