Renault, Powervault team up to turn EV batteries into home storage

Renault and Powervault have joined hands to turn electric vehicle batteries into home storage, in a move that commentators say will see the cost of Powervault home storage drop by 30 per cent.

With the cost reduction, it would reach the point of mass market for £3,000 fully installed.

According to Nicolas Schottey, programme director of EV batteries and infrastructures at Renault, the deal was the latest branch of Renault's emerging strategy to maximise the use of its battery packs.

Schottey said thanks to the home energy storage partnership with Powervault, Renault was adding a new element into its global strategy for second life batteries, which already covered a large number of usages from industrial to residential building and districts.

Powervault also announced a 12-month trial of 50 units in homes fitted with solar panels across the UK, to assess the technical performance of the batteries and gauge consumer response to home energy storage.

According to Powervault, the trial would be a mix of M&S Energy customers, social housing tenants and schools in the South East.

Renault said electric car batteries lasted about eight years on the road, but still had another 10 years of life for other uses in a stationary situation.

A UK trial is set to begin in July, which will see 50 M&S Energy using homes already equipped with solar panels get the Powervault system installed with a repurposed Renault car battery.

They will then be able to use the solar energy they collect and also charge the battery from the grid at off peak times.