Japanese legacy automaker Nissan and battery recycling specialist Ecobat have just announced Tuesday a new partnership to give used electric vehicle batteries second-life applications in the UK.
Strategic pilot agreement
According to the joint press release, Nissan and Ecobat officially signed a Strategic Pilot Agreement to recycle used electric vehicle batteries.
The partners aim to explore how they can locate old Nissan LEAF batteries within the UK salvage network. From there, they aim to safely recover, repair, recycle, or repurpose used electric vehicle batteries.
Recycling process
The first step of the recycling process requires Nissan and Ecobat to recover old Nissan LEAF batteries from UK salvage operators.
Then, Nissan and Ecobat will assess and send the batteries to the latter’s UK Diagnostic and Disassembly Centre in Darlaston near Birmingham using “specialist vehicles.”
From there, they will dismantle, repair, and repurpose the batteries for second-life applications.
“We provide a specialist offering for battery handling, with highly skilled engineers that are trained to work on high voltage batteries, in full compliance with UK battery regulations.
This is a critical piece of the EV sustainability picture that has real environmental benefits. We even recover any energy stored in the salvaged battery and use it to provide power to the onsite EV charger network at our site.”
Tom Seward, Ecobat Solutions’ EU Key Accounts Director (Northern & UK)
Nissan expects the process to help them determine the old EV batteries’ “long term safety and performance.”
“We are working together with Ecobat to assess how we engage with salvage operators, manage transportation, test, repair and reuse electric vehicle batteries in order to understand the commercial value chain.”
Alan Low, Nissan Energy Services’ EV Battery Circular Economy Manager
Establishing a sustainable circular energy economy
Nissan and Ecobat’s partnership primarily aims to establish a sustainable circular energy economy.
Nissan plans to offer the assessed batteries for second-life applications, including the following:
- Battery energy storage systems (BESS) for emergency backup and power balancing
- Mobile power charging systems
Meanwhile, batteries that do not meet the qualifications for the above-mentioned second-life applications will be prepared for recycling.
The partnership will aid Nissan’s efforts to achieve its carbon neutrality target by 2050 across its global operations and the life cycle of its products.
