Free Webinar | AI x New Consumer Expectations

Webinar-Breaking-News-Icon-1
Join us on

15 or 16 May 2024

Sign up now
Back to our Global Home

Select your country

Log in

Concepts, campaigns and companies worth tracking. Selected by our experts, delivered daily.

New 25 MWh energy storage facility in California runs on used Nissan and Honda batteries

North of Los Angeles in Lancaster, a 25 MWh energy storage facility recently went into operation. Not all that remarkable, given similar facilities are opening across California to balance out supply and demand of renewable energy. What's unique about this one is that it solely utilizes used EV batteries.

B2U Storage Solutions took 1,300 EV battery packs that once powered Honda and Nissan vehicles and placed them in white cabinet enclosures. While they no longer have the juice to quickly accelerate a car, the batteries are still entirely capable of storing electricity. B2U's innovative approach to deploying second life EV batteries keeps them in their original pack casing, virtually eliminating repurposing costs.

The Lancaster facility combines energy storage with energy production through solar panels, and it's the largest of its kind anywhere in the world. When energy is cheap and plentiful, the batteries charge up to their maximum capacity. And when supply drops and prices increase, electricity is sold into California's wholesale power market. In addition to Honda and Nissan, the company has successfully tested GM Bolt and Tesla Model 3 battery packs.

Trend Bite

Many consumers choose to drive electric out of environmental considerations and are increasingly concerned about whether lithium, cobalt and other battery minerals are obtained ethically and sustainably. And about what happens to batteries once their capacity is too low to run a vehicle. 

That will lead some people to prioritize public transit, cycling and walking. Growing awareness will compel others to start demanding information about the full lifecycle of the batteries they use. Not just the ones under the hoods of their cars but powering every device they use.

For the brands they buy from, blockchain is an obvious solution, as is partnering with companies like B2U. Or maybe adopting battery passports? Whatever path your company takes, end-to-end transparency and traceability will eventually become a customer expectation you'll need to meet. So why not become a lifecycle frontrunner?

6 March 2023

Innovation of the day

Related: Ascend Elements upcycles worn-out EV batteries into better-than-new — Chocolate brand Koa uses blockchain to show exactly how much it pays every cocoa farmer