Three Japanese firms are in talks to develop a business that will reuses end-of-life lithium-ion electric vehicle (EV) batteries in energy storage systems.
Japanese trading house Itochu will partner with BYD, as well as forming an equity and business partnership with vehicle battery recycler Shenzhen Pandpower, reports Nikkei Asian Review news source.
The companies aim to produce 1MWh systems housed in 40-foot containers that will handle fluctuations in supply and demand from renewable power sources as early as next year.
Itochu will target places where electricity infrastructure is undeveloped, such as mining sites in Australia and Southeast Asia, with plans to sell the batteries in the US and Japan, according to the news source.
The Japanese company is aiming for 10 billion yen ($92 million) of sales within five years.
