The Nissan Blue Switch Project - Nissan Used EV Batteries Find New Purpose

After going milestone with its leaf debuted into the market in December 2010, Nissan has been working hard to make sure that its electric vehicle batteries are more than just car batteries to scrap. As the Japanese carmaker sets to realise carbon neutrality by 2050, Nissan has also found ways to use its electric vehicle batteries to power other things!

The Nissan Blue Switch project is one of the alternatives developed by Nissan to enable electric vehicles to convert into clean and mobile emergency power supplies to be used in the aftermath of natural disasters.

In fact, the project has earned Nissan the "Best Resilience Award" for 2020, with Nissan being the only carmaker to be recognised. In December, Nissan highlighted how the Nissan Leaf's vehicle-to-grid technology helped disaster relief workers in the aftermath of Typhoon Hagibis.

It has also been reported that the company is also beginning to send the first Nissan LEAF batteries that are coming to the end of life to the Energy Corp factory. The batteries will be recycled with care and improvised to deliver “extra value” in many forms at the factory.

The Nissan LEAF batteries supplied to the 4R facility are first rated. Some components are given an "A" rating and can be reused in new electric vehicle battery units. In contrast, others are given a "B" grade and can be utilised in industrial machines such as forklifts and big stationary energy storage. In backup supply power units, "C" grade components might still be useful.

According to 4R Energy’s engineers, Nissan Leaf batteries are estimated to end up with a life span of about 10 to 15 years (probably beyond), regardless of what grade the batteries are.

The good news is, creating demand for batteries beyond their useful EV lifespan could reduce the total cost of ownership for EV owners even further on top of benefiting renewable energy projects. For instance, a solar farm on the artificial island of Yumeshima in western Japan’s Osaka uses 16 lithium-ion EV batteries to manage energy fluctuations and store the solar electricity generated.

Same goes for the Koshikishima, an island off the coast of southwestern Japan; 4R Energy has created a battery management system that allows wind and solar energy to power the local EV charging network.