Nissan Developing EV Batteries That Can Be Reused In The Home
Nissan is teaming up with Swiss power company ABB to create an EV battery that can be reused outside of cars. According to a recent article on CNET.com, the battery is, “workable for many [other] energy storage applications, such as home batteries or buffering the distribution grid.” Along with improving the environment, the project hopes to create an incentive for auto customers who are thinking about purchasing an electric car. Owners will be able to resell their cars’ battery, which drops to 70 percent capacity after about ten years. The financial return could be lucrative for auto owners because car batteries — usually worth a few thousand dollars — are the most expensive part of an electric car.
The CNET.com article also explains the details of the battery:
The partnership intends to make a prototype stationary lithium ion battery system with at least 50 kilowatt hours of stored energy, which is enough to supply 15 average homes for two hours… Lithium ion batteries are well suited for delivering bursts of power on the grid for minutes or hours. That means they could be used to create a steady flow of power to consumers as more variable wind and solar power comes onto the grid, said Jochen Kreusel, global head of ABB’s smart grid program.
Images via CNET & AutoBlog Green
Recent Articles By Sam McNerney 
Sam McNerney graduated from Hamilton College where he earned a bachelors in Philosophy last May. However, after reading too much Descartes and Nietzsche, he realized that his true passion is reading and writing about the psychology of judgment and decision making. His blog, www.WhyWeReason.com tries to figure out what makes humans tick. He spends his free time listening to Gaga and tweeting @WhyWeReason.
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