One of the biggest questions surrounding the adaptation of electric vehicles is what happens to their batteries after they’re no longer suitable for use on the road. And here we have one answer, at least.
Nissan and its partners have installed (the equivalent of) 148 Leaf batteries in the Johan Cruijff Arena in Amsterdam. The array makes up a 3-megawatt energy storage system to power not only the arena, but in the case of a power outage, several thousand households in the surrounding neighborhood as well. It’s the largest energy storage ever installed in a commercial building in all of Europe.
“Thanks to this energy storage system, the stadium will be able to use its own sustainable energy more intelligently and, as Amsterdam Energy ArenA BV, it can trade in the batteries’ available storage capacity.” says Henk van Raan, director of innovation at the Johan Cruijff Arena. “The ArenA is assured of a considerable amount of power, even during an outage. As a result, the stadium will contribute to a stable Dutch energy grid.”
The arena is home to the Dutch national soccer team and the local AFC Ajax team, as well as concerts, business conventions, and other events. All told, more than two million visit the facility each year.
“We are delighted to be part of the Europe’s largest energy storage system developed for a commercial building,” said Francisco Carranza, Managing Director of Nissan Energy. “Thanks to the Johan Cruijff Arena we can demonstrate today that re-purposing the batteries of Nissan electric vehicles can contribute to make the whole energy system more efficient and sustainable. We are putting our electric ecosystem at the heart of a sustainable future, transforming the way we drive and also transforming the way we live.”