Nissan Motor Co. and Sumitomo Corp. said they will establish a joint venture to recycle lithium-ion electric car batteries. The recycling effort could give Nissan an early lead in the fledgling market for electric cars by making its vehicles more affordable. The venture will enable the Japanese automobile manufacturer to lower the prices of its zero-emission vehicles by taking into account the resale value of their batteries, Nissan Chief Operating Officer Toshiyuki Shiga said.
The recycled batteries will be used to store energy received via photovoltaic solar panels on residential and industrial devices, for instance, or to store back-up power, Nissan’s Mr. Shiga said.
The lithium-ion batteries Nissan uses retain 70% to 80% of their residual capacity, even after their average lifetime of 10 years in an electric car, said Hideaki Watanabe, general manager of Nissan’s global zero emission business unit.
– from wsj.com