Nissan, Eaton and The Mobility House have signed a 10-year deal with Amsterdam Arena – home of Ajax Football Club – to provide back-up power from second life Nissan Leaf batteries.
The xStorage Buildings system efficiently stores and distributes energy when it’s needed, ensuring that the lights never go out at the 55,000-seater stadium, which has played host to numerous high-profile concerts and sporting events over the years.
By repurposing batteries from previously used electric vehicles, the xStorage Buildings system can draw energy from the grid, providing businesses with more control, better value and a more sustainable choice for their energy consumption.
Using 280 Nissan Leaf batteries, the system designed for the Amsterdam Arena will be the largest energy-storage system powered by second-life batteries used by a commercial business in Europe and will have 4MW of power and 4MW of storage capacity.
As well as providing vital back-up power services to the arena, xStorage Buildings also enables the Amsterdam Arena to power the surrounding neighborhood when necessary and protect the grid. The Mobility House, a technology company, will operate the xStorage Buildings system integrated at the Amsterdam Arena. It will perform various energy services strengthening local grid stability while generating additional value for the Amsterdam Arena.
In parallel, Nissan and Eaton have announced that their residential energy-storage unit, xStorage Home, will be available to pre-order in UK, Norway and Germany now, with other European markets to follow in the coming months.
Paul Willcox, chairman of Nissan in Europe, says: “Nissan is known for innovation and quality, particularly in our electric vehicles, and we’re proud to be using that expertise to transform the energy-management systems of commercial premises.
“This announcement is a world first and has the potential to revolutionize the energy industry. Since we announced xStorage back in May, we’ve seen overwhelming interest from consumers and businesses alike and we’re excited to be able to announce the Amsterdam Arena as our first commercial partner.
“Not only will xStorage Buildings provide vital back-up power to the Arena but it will also help to stabilize the national grid in the Netherlands at times of high-energy demand. This is the first of many exciting commercial announcements to come from Nissan in this rapidly developing market.”
Henk Markerink, CEO of the Amsterdam Arena, says, “We’re talking about a huge advantage in sustainability. Soon we will be able to store generated energy from our solar panels and windmills and put it to use when we need it. A great innovation – in the future, the Amsterdam Arena will be the first stadium in the world that won’t be using fossil fuels anymore.”
Frank Campbell, president, Eaton EMEA, Electrical and Corporate, says, “We’re excited to see how Amsterdam Arena, Eaton, Nissan and The Mobility House are leading the way, implementing energy-storage systems in highly demanding environments and ultimately making stadiums and their neighborhoods more energy-efficient”.
Campbell adds, “The xStorage Buildings system that will be installed at the Amsterdam Arena is one example of our wide portfolio of energy-storage systems that enable all actors in the energy chain, from the end users to businesses and grid operators, to benefit from energy storage – in a way that is safe, reliable and sustainable. Another example is xStorage Home, our residential energy- storage unit available for pre-orders today, which helps consumers control how and when to use energy in their homes and will empower them to contribute to local and national grid stability. This is another demonstration of our wide energy-storage offering.”
Thomas Raffeiner, CEO and founder of The Mobility House, says, “With our technology, we monetize the batteries and make the Amsterdam Arena more efficient, sustainable and reliable.”
