Batteries recycled to store energy for the grid

Outside of range anxiety, most consumers' biggest concern with electric cars is battery replacement costs. It's a worry Nissan thinks it's got handled.  

Remember how we told you about people in Japan using their Nissan LEAF's battery to store power for their home?

Electric power company ABB remembers, and they're working with Nissan on researching whether they could buy your old LEAF batteries for just that purpose, reports CNET.

ABB announced January 18 they'll be working with Nissan's 4R Energy joint-venture (that's "4R" for "reuse, refabricate, resell, recycle") on developing a stationary lithium-ion battery system capable of storing 50 kilowatt hours of energy, enough to supply about 15 homes for two hours.

They've already been working with Chevrolet on recycling the Volt's batteries for the same purpose.

The LEAF's batteries are designed to last at least 10 years, after which point their capacity will be cut down to about 70 percent.

That's enough of a drop to affect the car's range, but not enough that the batteries can't be potentially used to store energy from less-than-steady sources like solar- and wind-power generators and deliver that energy to homes in a constant stream.

They could also use that stored energy to take a little load off the grid during peak energy consumption.

The ABB-4R Energy research effort will determine whether the battery recycling is both technically and commercially feasible.

The batteries are one of the most expensive parts of a modern electric car, so getting a little cash back for 'em when it comes to replacing them or the car sounds pretty sweet. Anybody giving the LEAF or Volt a second look, now?

(CNet)