Renault primed for Powerwall price war

Renault has announced it has begun developing what could be the world's most affordable home energy storage device.

Developed with UK-based battery expert, Powervault, the pioneering new powerwall being developed by both companies is claimed to cost a fraction of the cost of its rivals because it re-uses former electric car batteries in its manufacture.

Claimed to slash the costs of the storage device by 30 per cent, in the UK Renault plans to sell the energy packs from around £3000 ($A5200).

The cheapest Tesla Powerwall, meanwhile, in Australia is priced from $A8000.

Before selling them commercially, the French car-maker says it has produced a limited run of 50 units that it will supply to homes with solar in a UK trial in the London borough of Greenwich.

As part of the trial, Renault and Powervault will gauge the repurposed batteries' real-world performance and compare them with all-new models sold by its competitors.

According to Renault, the use of used lithium cells from its cars is viable because despite being created to give 8-10 years' service in a vehicle the cells can actually offer another 10 years of useful additional life in a stationary powerwall application.

In the future, Renault dealers will be tasked with removing battery cells from damaged vehicles, or cars at the end of their life.

The recovered lithium-ion modules are then tested and graded by Powervault before being repackaged into smaller battery packs for domestic use.

In the UK, like in Australia, demand for powerwalls offered by the likes of Tesla and Daimler is a booming business, following more than 842,000 solar roof panel units being installed between 2010-2015.

Cheaper home domestic storage cells are expected to only fuel the market for home power generation.

Commenting on the new trial, Renault's EV batteries boss, Nicolas Schottey said: “Thanks to this home energy storage partnership with Powervault, Renault is adding a new element into its global strategy for second life batteries, which already covers a large number of usages from industrial to residential building and districts.

"The second life use not only gives additional life to electric vehicle batteries before they are recycled, but also allow consumers to save money. It’s a win-win-win: for EV owners, home-owners and the planet.”