Nissan, Renault and Mercedes lead second life BESS battery supply but market still highly illiquid 

LinkedIn
Twitter
Reddit
Facebook
Email

Nissan, Renault and Mercedes-Benz are at the forefront of providing EV batteries for companies developing second life battery energy storage systems (BESS), but the market for such batteries is still thinly-traded. 

That has become clear from interviews conducted by Energy-Storage.news for an upcoming feature on the second life BESS market for PV Tech Power, Solar Media’s quarterly journal on the downstream solar and storage sector. 

Nissan and Renault are emerging as leaders in providing second life batteries to companies that specialise in repurposing them into stationary storage systems. 

Mercedes-Benz, through subsidiary Mercedes-Benz Energy (MBE), is also active in working with outside companies but is mainly providing test vehicles or off-the-factory-line modules rather than ones that have actually been on the road. 

This article requires Premium SubscriptionBasic (FREE) Subscription

Enjoy 12 months of exclusive analysis

Not ready to commit yet?
  • Regular insight and analysis of the industry’s biggest developments
  • In-depth interviews with the industry’s leading figures
  • Annual digital subscription to the PV Tech Power journal
  • Discounts on Solar Media’s portfolio of events, in-person and virtual

Or continue reading this article for free

“MBE is at the forefront in providing quality-assured batteries,” said a source in the second life BESS market. 

Nearly all automotive groups with developed product lines of EVs are working on ways to incorporate used batteries into second life BESS units to some extent. But those outside these three have tended to keep these under wraps, in-house, or have limited their publicly announced moves to single, large-scale projects.

Unsurprisingly, the marketplace for buying and selling used EV batteries from third parties today is small, with pricing still determined by the market for new batteries. 

“Right now the price dynamics are obscure because there are only a few companies buying and selling them so it’s not a liquid market,” another source said. 

“We see a price range of €60-70/kWh (US$59.88 – US$69.86/kWh) for lower quality modules and €140-€160/kWh for higher quality ones. Compare that to around €200/kWh for new modules, although that is in light of a decades-long fall from €1,000 to €100 which was reversed last year.”

“Obviously the price of second life shouldn’t be influenced by current lithium or new battery shortages but it’s still influenced, because sellers know what they can charge.”

It should be said that providing used EV batteries to companies developing second life BESS products is far from the only solution, or even the most sustainable. Battery packs can also be reused for other vehicles, sold direct-to-consumers or put into the recycling chain. 

Piotr Grudzień, Innovation Consultant for Bax & Company wrote a lengthy guest blog for Energy-Storage.news on the topic, specifically covering Europe, back in June this year

11 November 2025
San Diego, USA
The 2024 Summit included innovative new features including a ‘Crash Course in Battery Asset Management’, Ask-Me-Anything formats and debate-style sessions. You can expect to meet and network with all the key industry players again in 2025 from major US asset owners, operators, RTOs and ISOs, optimizers, software and analytics providers, technical consultancies, O&M technology providers and more.
24 February 2026
InterContinental London - The O2, London, UK
This isn’t just another summit – it’s our biggest and most exhilarating Summit yet! Picture this: immersive workshop spaces where ideas come to life, dedicated industry working groups igniting innovation, live podcasts sparking lively discussions, hard-hitting keynotes that will leave you inspired, and an abundance of networking opportunities that will take your connections to new heights!

Read Next

October 8, 2025
Repurposing EV battery packs and modules into BESS obviously has environmental benefits, but challenges around pricing, performance and safety remain, panellists at an industry event in London said last week.
October 8, 2025
US utility Xcel Energy has proposed to build out a 200MW battery storage network across Minnesota, US.
October 8, 2025
The NSW Independent Planning Commission has granted planning approval for Potentia Energy’s 500MW Tallawang solar-plus-storage project.
October 7, 2025
BSW-Solar has called on the German government to impose a target of 100GWh of cumulative operational BESS by 2030.
Premium
October 7, 2025
Energy-Storage.news Premium hears from a representative from Honeywell and Alejandro Schnakofsky, CTO of Prevalon, on fire safety in the battery energy storage system (BESS) industry.

Most Popular

Email Newsletter