Nissan reuses electric car batteries to light up the roads
Nissan is using old Leaf batteries to power streetlights to make travel safer for vehicles and pedestrians.
Nissan calls this type of light“The Light Reborn”, it uses a solar panel to charge the battery and can turn on the LED light at night without requiring connection to an external power source.
Nissan is testing the product in Namie, Japan – a city that was abandoned after the Fukushima nuclear accident – and plans to fully install the new streetlights later this year.
Nissan has been experimenting with the idea of using Liaf batteries for a long time. However, the idea of using batteries in a street lamp is new and seems to be just the beginning of Nissan's new approach to recycling old batteries for the grid.
Renault, Mercedes and other carmakers also plan to use batteries from old and damaged EVs in a variety of ways. One way is to use them as storage for buildings that use solar or wind power. Or recycle batteries for smaller devices like smartphones.
Meanwhile, Nissan revealed a rather surprising plan.“a park that features children's activities converted into energy. Children's energy during the day keeps the park bright and safe at night”
Like the idea“Smart Island”Nissan's Light Reborn project is a small-scale experiment and is mainly used to market the manufacturer's "green" credentials. Namie, Japan, is a particularly sensitive location for the test, as the nearby Fukushima nuclear plant lost power in an earthquake and tsunami, causing a radiation leak.
So far, only Tesla has really pushed into the consumer market with its Powerwall solar panels, but by 2020, major companies like VW will be pushing the idea of recycling car batteries for the grid more aggressively, making it a more viable solution.