Taking a Leaf out of the carbon neutrality book

NISSAN Australia is adopting principles of the so-called ‘Circular Economy’ to address carbon neutrality (and cut costs) through reusing end-of life batteries sourced from its EVs.

The old batteries, that retain a level of charging capacity, will be used to power EV component manufacturing at Nissan Casting Plant Australia (NCAP).

The innovative, Circular Economy project in Victoria will initially use old Nissan Leaf batteries in parts of NCAP’s production facility.

Nissan Australia says it is “an exciting window into the future for end-of-life electric vehicle batteries, the NCAP Battery Project … called Nissan Node, sees a new solar array installed at Nissan Casting Australia Plant (NCAP) in Dandenong, as well as new EV chargers”.

The elegant and simple Nissan Node project includes the installation of a new Battery Energy Storage System made of nine repurposed Gen 1 Nissan Leaf batteries at the NCAP which will be charged via the solar array.

Nissan Australia says it a true Circular Economy project, using end-of-life batteries from the Nissan Leaf – the world’s first mass-market electric vehicle – and renewable energy to power part of the production of components for Nissan’s global EV models, as well as help supply the new EV chargers to recharge staff vehicles.

The project is estimated to reduce Nissan Casting Australia’s annual CO2 emissions by 259 tons, while saving 128 megawatts of energy every year.

“This isn’t just a hugely exciting project, but an important step into the future for end-of-life EV batteries,” said Nissan Oceania Managing director Andrew Humberstone.

“As an early pioneer of the electric vehicle both globally and locally, we can also demonstrate leadership in second-life battery initiatives.

“I’m proud that this solution is every bit as innovative as the launch of not only the Leaf but the recently introduced Ariya.”

The recently introduced (in Australia) Ariya headlines Nissan’s global EV line-up and according to the century old manufacturer represents an exciting opportunity for Australian customers as well as opportunities for local manufacturing, with NCAP’s high pressure aluminium castings certified Australian Made and carrying the iconic kangaroo symbol.

To recap, Nissan’s NCAP operation has been a mainstay of the industry since its establishment in 1982.

Today, in excess of 50 per cent of NCAP’s operation is dedicated to the manufacturing of high-quality aluminium castings that are fitted to Nissan’s battery electric and hybrid vehicles sold globally, with NCAP recognised as a centre of manufacturing excellence within the global Nissan network.

Underlining this is every Nissan Leaf EV sold globally to date has components fitted that were manufactured in Australia, as is also the case with the next generation e-Power powertrain, launching in 2026 locally in the Nissan Qashqai.

“This is another great, innovative idea from the Nissan Casting Australia Plant (NCAP) team that creates a sustainable solution for Nissan’s end-of-life electric vehicle batteries,” added Mr Humberstone.

“This Nissan Node Project perfectly demonstrates the Nissan way of thinking to ‘Challenge for the Future’.

“We are very proud of our NCAP team, which continues to innovate and improve to ensure our advanced manufacturing capability, not only for Nissan but also for Australia.”

Nissan Australia says the Node project was completed in partnership with innovative Melbourne-based company, Relectrify which is the developer of ground-breaking battery management and inverter technology that dramatically extends the life of batteries, reduces battery system costs, and enables the repurposing of high-quality second-life batteries from electric vehicles.

Relectrify’s ReVolve Battery Energy Storage System being installed at the NCAP is a first-of-its kind product built from end-of-life Leaf batteries.

“We are delighted to be working with Nissan on this initiative, which positions Australian innovation at the forefront of the global transition towards both carbon neutrality and the Circular Economy,” said Relectrify CEO Jeff Renaud.