Toyota is revitalising old electrified car batteries to power Mazda's headquarters and factory as part of a car battery recycling program.
Electric Cars
Used hybrid and electric car batteries are getting a new lease on life in Japan, as part of a Toyota and Mazda trial using them to power buildings.
The Japanese car giants have collaborated to install batteries from older electrified Toyota vehicles to store and supply energy to Mazda's head office and factory in Hiroshima.
It is still in its testing phase, but the brands say the program is designed to “enable the verification of stable, high-quality, and efficient charging and discharging,” while finding a new use for decommissioned hybrid batteries.
Toyota’s battery allows excess energy produced by thermal power plants, as well as renewable sources such as solar, to be stored and redirected at a later time to the production line.
It is designed to allow power from renewable sources to continue to flow even when it is not actively being produced, such as solar panels at night.
The storage system “rapidly switches battery power flow on and off”, even when new batteries of different capacities and difference ages are added to the system, Toyota says.
The pair of car brands say “building a battery ecosystem” is one of “seven mobility industry issues” identified by the Japanese Automobile Manufacturers Association (JAMA), of which they are both members.
The Toyota and Mazda program is the latest in a series of initiatives to recycle old hybrid and electric car batteries.
In 2017, Renault partnered with UK company Powervault to reuse old electric car batteries for energy storage in homes, reducing their costs by 30 per cent compared to a newly-produced battery.
Earlier this year, 84 older Nissan Leaf batteries were refurbished and used as part of an energy storage system at Rome airport.
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Ilana is a Melbourne-based journalist who was previously a copywriter in the Big Apple. Having moved to Melbourne for her Master of Journalism, she has written articles about food, farm machinery, fashion, and now the fast and furious. Her dream car has been a Mini Cooper since the fifth grade, eyeing its style and petite size.
