Nissan to Begin Recycling Electric-Car Batteries

By YOSHIO TAKAHASHI
TOKYO—Nissan Motor Co. and Sumitomo Corp. said they will establish a joint venture to recycle lithium-ion electric car batteries.
The recycling effort could give Nissan an early lead in the fledgling market for electric cars by making its vehicles more affordable.
The venture will enable the Japanese automobile manufacturer to lower the prices of its zero-emission vehicles by taking into account the resale value of their batteries, Nissan Chief Operating Officer Toshiyuki Shiga said.
"This is a scheme that will make it easier for customers to use electric cars," said Mr. Shiga, whose company will launch its Leaf electric car in the U.S., Japan and Europe next year.
For Sumitomo, the partnership offers the Japanese trading house an opportunity to broaden the scope of its automobile-related business, which ranges from supplying raw materials for batteries to leasing cars.
The joint venture is Nissan's latest push to catch up with rivals enjoying brisk sales of fuel-efficient cars, such as Toyota Motor Corp. and Honda Motor Co. and their gasoline-electric hybrid vehicles.
Nissan currently sells hybrid cars equipped with hybrid technology from Toyota, and plans to market a model next year powered by its own hybrid system.
The recycled batteries will be used to store energy received via photovoltaic solar panels on residential and industrial devices, for instance, or to store back-up power, Nissan's Mr. Shiga said.
In Japan, demand for such recycled batteries is expected to reach the equivalent of at least 50,000 electric cars a year by 2020, Nissan and Sumitomo said.
The lithium-ion batteries Nissan uses retain 70% to 80% of their residual capacity, even after their average lifetime of 10 years in an electric car, said Hideaki Watanabe, general manager of Nissan's global zero emission business unit.
Nissan President and Chief Executive Carlos Ghosn reiterated Monday that it will take time for electric cars to reach the mass market, but that he expects them to account for 10% of global vehicle sales by 2020.
Nissan operates a joint venture with NEC Corp. to produce lithium-ion batteries for its electric cars.
Write to Yoshio Takahashi at yoshio.takahashi@dowjones.com