Nissan, Sumitomo to Recycle Li-Ion Batteries, Say Resale Value Will Help Cut Costs
By John O'Dell October 20, 2009
Looking to create a market for used lithium-ion batteries that will help make new ones less expensive, Nissan Motor Co. and Japanese trading and financial giant Sumitomo Corp. said today they will team up to start an battery recycling business.
A lithium-ion battery cell made by Nissan's Automotive Energy Supply Corp. joint venture with NEC. Recycling batteries will help lower costs, the automaker says.
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Once no longer useful in hybrids or electric vehicles because their storage capacity has dropped below acceptable levels, the batteries still can be recycled for use in stationary systems ranging from emergency back-up power to storage of solar and wind-generated electricity.
Creating an after-automotive market and value for the batteries would allow automakers such as Nissan - which is building its own batteries for its upcoming EVs - to factor the recycled value into the cost of manufacturing hybrid and all-electric cars and trucks with rechargeable batteries.
The venture is part of Nissan's effort to pull ahead of the pack in the electric vehicle market and regain some of the ground it lost by ignoring the hybrid market for so long.
The companies said the recycling joint venture will start up next year, about the same time Nissan begins delivering its first EV, the Leaf (right), to select markets in Japan and the U.S.
Nissan intends to lease rather than sell the Leaf's batteries to car buyers in most of the world, and is expected to repeat that strategy as its adds two new EVs to its model lineup in 2101. The leases will provide Nissan a guaranteed source of batteries for the recycling effort.
Nissan CEO Carlos Ghosn told reporters in Japan on Monday that while it will take time for electric vehicles to catch on, he expects them to account for 10 percent of all new car sales by 2020.
Batteries for EVs and hybrids can last 10 years or more but ultimately lose their effectiveness for automotive use while still offering 70-80 percent of their original storage capacity.
The Japanese energy storage market alone could absorb recycled batteries from 50,000 electric cars a year by then, Nissan and Sumitomo said.
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