Electric vehicle battery pack reuse in the smart grid

A question around electric vehicles is the disposition of battery packs after a few years when capacity depletes shortening the driving range. Will the battery pack just go to a landfill, or can they be put to another use?

An electric car battery pack might have 70 percent capacity remaining after 10 years of use. This may be enough capacity to be attractive for residential or commercial energy storage systems or back-up power systems. Energy storage systems can store power from the grid during times of low usage and feed that electricity back into the grid during periods of peak demand, increasing grid performance and providing back-up power during outages.

Energy storage solutions are expected to become a key component of the smart grid, contributing to greater efficiency, reliability and performance. They will facilitate further integration of renewable energy sources, such as wind and solar, into the grid.

Research projects in electric vehicle battery reuse as energy storage systems

On Jan 18, 2012 Nissan announced a project with ABB, 4R Energy and Sumitomo, to evaluate the re-use of lithium-ion battery packs currently in use in Leaf models. The team plans to develop a LEAF battery storage prototype with a capacity of at least 50 kilowatt hours (kWh), enough to supply 15 average homes with electricity for two hours. http://www.torquenews.com/1075/nissan-exploring-second-life-leaf-battery-packs-energy-storage-systems