A burgeoning market for used EV batteriesApril 14, 2010 - by Lisa Sibley, Cleantech Group
Companies including Nissan and General Motors are eyeing an expected secondary market for advanced batteries, finds the Cleantech Group’s Lisa Sibley.
There appears to be a growing new market for advanced batteries after their lifespans in electric vehicles expire.
What will the future of this market look like exactly?
It’s hard to forecast, but companies including Nissan and General Motors want a piece of it. They are looking to sell used batteries from their electric vehicles to wind farm operators, among others, according to a recent article in the UK’s Times newspaper.
Japanese trading house Itochu and advanced battery company EnerDel, a subsidiary of New York-based Ener1, are also looking into the secondary life for battery packs after they've degraded from use in electric vehicles. In a secondary capacity, they still appear to have significant remaining storage capability (see Sneak peek at Itochu’s Green Crossover initiative).
And these are just a few recent examples.
Old batteries could have energy storage applications in emergency power supplies, homes, offices, elevators, vending machines, apartments, and cell phone towers. All these potential secondary applications offer a way to help bring down the cost of the batteries themselves, and in turn the price of electric vehicles.
This could be huge for the industry, a...
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