Sumitomo unveils world's first power storage system that utilizes used batteries

TOKYO (Scrap Monster): Tokyo-based Sumitomo Corporation in co-operation with Nissan Motor Co., Ltd has successfully developed and installed the world’s first large-scale power storage system which makes use of used electric vehicles (EV) batteries. The storage system is being built near a solar power station on Yume-shima Island, Osaka. The 600 kilowatt system pilot system uses 16 used batteries.

The two companies had entered into a joint venture project titled ‘4R Energy Corporation’ in 2010.The four R’s stand for ‘Reuse, Resell, Refabricate and Recycle’. The program which targets large scale reuse of Lithium-Ion batteries from electric vehicles was also supported by Japan’s Ministry of Environment.

This project has been selected as a model project for "Verification of the battery storage control to promote renewable energy" for the fiscal year 2013 by the Ministry of the Environment of Japan. The project will be monitored for the next three years for stable output of electricity. The ultimate aim is to develop a sustainable large-scale power storage mechanism from the tonnes of discarded batteries.

Sumitomo Corporation is a leading global trading company, with 116 locations in 65 countries and 24 locations in Japan. The entire Sumitomo Corporation Group consists of nearly 800 companies and more than 70,000 personnel. Nissan Motor Co manufactures and markets automobiles, light trucks and its related parts. It has overseas production bases in the US, the UK and Mexico.