Renault reveals plan for used EV batteries to get second life helping to power homes

Second-hand batteries from electric cars are to be given a new lease of life in the home as part of a trial project unveiled by Renault. The French manufacturer has teamed up with domestic energy firm Power vault to turn batteries that have reached the end of their on-road life into an energystorage system for the home. Powervault already produces “smart battery” units to store electricity generated by household solar panels. As part of the new system it will integrate the spent batteries from Renault’s electric ve hi cl es(ev)suc has the Zoe, Twizy and Kangoo ZE and use them for energy storage. Powervault says that the partnership will reduce the cost of a unit by almost a third and help move it towards the “tipping point” where mass-market roll out is feasible across the UK. The partnership will embark on a trial of the systems later this year to assess the technical performance of the setup and gauge customer reaction to it. The initial trial will include schools, housing association properties and private customers of M&S Energy. If successful, the scheme could double the life of batteries. Currently, Renault customers pay between £49 and £110 to lease the batteries in their EVS from the car maker. This means that as the batteries’ performance drops off they can be swapped for fresh ones free of charge. Renault says its batteries have a useful in-vehicle life of around eight to 10 years but still have plenty of capacity left for less demanding “stationary” applications. It is estimated that in the Powervault system they could have up to 10 more years of life.