EV News: Japanese plan to recycle and re-use lithium ion electric car batteries

Nissan LEAF plug-in all-electric compact car, arriving North America fall 2010

Photo: Nissan

An important issue in the growing demand for zero-emission plug-in electric cars, and their hybrid cousins, is what to do with their lithium-ion batteries once they wear out.  Two Japanese companies -- Nissan and Sumitomo -- have a plan, announced today, Tuesday, Oct. 20, 2009, at a joint news conference in Tokyo.

It’s called “4R”, and it stands for re-use, re-sell, re-fabricate and recycle.  Yes, recycle is the last choice.

The business model is from Nissan – which doesn’t surprise me since Nissan honcho Carlos Ghosn has said he wants to be the world leader in ‘sustainable mobility’.  At the Frankfurt Auto Show, which I attended, Ghosn introduced three all-electric concept cars for his Renault division.  I also heard him announce an industry-leading partnership with Better Place, the company which would rather have you swap EV batteries than re-charge them.

What does surprise me is that Nissan’s “4R” program is with Sumitomo, a company which trades products and services such as financial services, and not with NEC, which is making the lithium-ion batteries for Nissan and Renault EV cars.  That includes the Nissan LEAF, which already has 20,000 orders even though it’s not due to arrive in North America until late in 2010.

It is important to have a green, environmentally friendly program for used up lithium-ion batteries from EV, PHEV and two-mode hybrid vehicles, once they have outlived their ability to be fully re-charged.  Just think of all the Toyota Prius hybrids, Ford Escape hybrids, and even Cadillac Escalade hybrids already on the road, and all the hybrid and electric models we’ll be seeing soon – including the Tesla Roadster, Fisker Karma and Nissan LEAF plug-ins, and the Mercedes-Benz S400 hybrid which uses a powerful lithium-ion battery pack, as does the Infiniti M35 hybrid just announced by Nissan.

So how will this 4R program work?

Re-use -- the power-drained batteries will be given a second life as energy-strorage solutions.  Think of them as file cabinets, for energy generated by solar power and wind power that needs a place to ‘park’ before being used. According to my sources in Tokyo, this type of second-life use would reduce of CO2 even more than what is achieved by the all-electric, zero-emission car.

Resell – the power-drained batteries would be sold to energy companies to use as power-storage devices, or as a small back-up power unit, perhaps replacing a diesel generator for home use.

Refabricate – take the battery pack apart and repackage it for a particular need, such as an energy-storage device.

Recycle – Kill the poor, pooped-out thing to salvage the raw materials, including lithium.

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• Related green car articles about EV and hybrid cars:
• How lithium ion batteries work
• Audi confirms it will produce EV version of R8 sportscar
• Mercedes rolls out S400 hybrid sedan and a hybrid SUV
• Toyota debuts plug-in 2010 Prius hybrid
• Lamborghini to launch hybrid Gallardo by 2015

When I was a kid, it was the 3Rs – reading, writing and arithmetic.  Now, it’s 4Rs – reuse, resell, refabricate and recycle. 

What do you think about this plan? 

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