The Japanese car company Nissan is reusing some of the batteries from its electric cars in a new program to power cities’ streetlights. A lamp prototype of the light reborn program promo video (Image via Nissan)
As the debate on climate change and everyone’s carbon footprint continues, it is becoming evident that the world needs cleaner sources of energy, which mankind could adapt to all uses possible. That must be the driving factor in the fever automobile companies got to make electric vehicles. The competition between GM, Tesla, Nissan and a few others is fierce, but each of them still has to perfect the art of making 100% reliable electric vehicles. Nissan, for example, has to improve the longevity of its Leaf’s battery. Consumers reported that the battery inside the new generation of the electric car loses power earlier (after 5 years) than the older generation (after 8 years).
Luckily, Nissan found a solution to the battery issue. With the assistance of 4R Energy Corp, a company born out of a collaboration with Sumimoto Corp., Nissan will allow owners of the Leaf to get a replacement for the “dying” battery for a small fee. Available only in Japan, the program allows owners to get a new 24kWh battery for $6,200 or 650,000 yen, or a new 30kWh for $7,600 (800,000 yen), or a new 40kWh for $7,800 (820,000 yen). In addition, some Leaf owners have the option of getting a “refurbished” battery for only $2,850 or 300,000 yen. Even if the “refurbished” battery doesn’t look appealing, Nissan can easily replace the cells that lost the most energy making the refurbished battery possibly the longest-lived battery for the Leaf.
But, battery replacement is not the only solution Nissan came up with to manage the “aging” battery. Since the goal of the electric car is to reduce the waste produced by commuting by car, it is also important to dispose properly of the car batteries that are no longer in use. For that, Nissan launched another program to reuse those batteries to power streetlights in areas that don’t have much lighting; therefore, increasing safety for citizens.
Named “The Light Reborn,” the program involves charging a solar panel during the day, which then will charge the Leaf battery which in turn will power the streetlights at night; without any external connection. Currently, it is the city of Namie in Japan that is serving as a test subject for “The Light Reborn,” which is ironic given that another source of energy (nuclear) almost destroyed the entire city back in 2011. However, using old batteries from disposed of cars is not a new idea. Like its competitor Tesla, Nissan has plans of using the batteries to power homes. Other uses for old Leaf batteries include “smart booths” which are essentially charging stations for all types of devices, powered by a clean energy source. Nissan’s vision of the ultimate zero-emission city pushes as further as creating parks that will collect energy from the runs and plays of children during the day and use it to light the parks at night.
As Nissan dreams of “Green Cities” and improves the reputation surrounding its electric car, Tesla continues to affirm itself as the ultimate provider of “green” products for consumers. As Tesla’s electric car stays number one on the market, now the company is launching more products like solar panels to help consumer live a “cleaner” lifestyle. One thing for sure, time will only bring more companies to the Zero Emission side.
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