Renault-Nissan Reportedly Planning To Enter Energy Market With Battery Plant

Renault-Nissan is looking into building a 100-megawatt power storage plant in Europe, which will lead in a new project in the energy storage business.

The Franco-Japanese alliance plans to give electric vehicle batteries a second lease of life and cultivate a second-hand battery market that could compete with utility companies, according to Reuters.

The aforementioned plant will have to be big enough to power 120,000 homes or supplant the role of a gas- or coal-fired power station in meeting peak electricity demand on the grid.

Instead of generating power, a storage plant charges the customer in times of excess supply and sells electricity back to the grid when needed. This kind of plants is considered to play a key role in smoothing out wind and solar power generation.

Renault-Nissan has partnered with energy storage specialist The Mobility House on the new plant, which could be built using new or used electric car battery packs.

"We're working with The Mobility House on several programmes including a major energy storage project that is currently still in the study phase," Renault spokeswoman Celine Farissier said.

Renault Zoe pictured