Sustainability Newsletter – June 2025

A hot topic on the transition to electric cars is what happens to the batteries once their time in the vehicles comes to an end. The good news is there are many examples of batteries being reused and recycled. Nissan Leaf batteries have long had a “second life” powering everything from the small robots at Nissan’s Oppama factory in Japan to a boarding school in South Africa. Now, Nissan has provided 84 reconditioned Nissan Leaf batteries to act as an energy storage facility at Rome’s Fiumicino airport. The batteries have been taken from high-mileage cars or cars which have been returned under warranty and combined with 55,000 solar panels Nissan predicts they can provide renewable energy to the airport’s terminal for between six to seven years.
Nissan is not the only electric car manufacturer to look for new ways to repurpose its batteries. BMW has used recycled car batteries from 40 i3s to create a rechargeable show battery which has been powering Coldplay’s concerts during its Music Of The Spheres World Tour. Meanwhile, other third-party businesses will provide repurposed EV batteries taken out of various models like the Tesla Model S and Jaguar I-Pace to be used as energy storage in homes with solar panels.

Yet, while Rome’s largest airport is using 30kWh and 40kWh batteries from the modest Nissan Leaf, there’s now a host of vehicles available using much larger batteries. Models like the Audi Q8 e-tron, the electric Mercedes G-Wagon and the Polestar 3 all have a battery capacity of over 100kWh to maximise range and compensate for their sheer size. This makes them prohibitively expensive for most people. Enter US start-up Slate Auto. Backed by investment from Amazon’s Jeff Bezos, Slate is aiming to make going electric more affordable with its American-made new cars.

Slate recently teased its first model, the Slate Truck. This is in many ways the opposite of Tesla’s Cybertruck thanks to its moderate proportions, very simple interior and expected starting price of just $20,000. The base model will have a range of around 150 miles and there will be a long-range version which could do up to 240 miles. The Slate Truck will also be fully customisable with an extensive selection of body styles, colour wraps and accessories. Alternatively, if you need a little inspiration Slate’s website has 29 suggestions to get you started. The most basic is “The Blank Slate” a grey electric pickup with nothing but the essentials inside. It features a digital driver display, physical heating dials and nothing but a phone holder for infotainment, just like the most basic Dacia Duster. If you’d rather an SUV you could go for “Mauvin’ on up” with its pink iridescent wrap, steering wheel with Bluetooth controls and green dashboard. There’s plenty of scope to let your imagination run wild. It all sounds a bit too good to be true and having seen similarly ambitious brands like Fisker come and go, we’ll hold off on putting down our refundable $50 deposit for now until we find out whether it will be coming to the UK.

All credit to Slate for its innovative approach, though, and we clearly need more companies to think outside of the box in the quest for a more sustainable future. To promote just that, Edie, the media outlet and sustainability advocate has opened applications for this year’s Edie Net-Zero Awards. This champions businesses from all industries which are leading the way with their carbon reduction programmes. Previous award winners include Octopus Energy and John Lewis with a range of runners up from a diverse group of business sectors. This year, Autotrader’s very own Editorial Director, Erin Baker is on the judging panel, and she hopes car brands will put themselves forward and apply.

• Sustainability newsletter – May 2025 | Car brands fined for hiding data on recyclable material in their vehicles and a potential upside to American tariffs
• Sustainability newsletter – April 2025 | Car brands fined for hiding data on recyclable material in their vehicles and a potential upside to American tariffs • Sustainability newsletter – March 2025 | Climate crisis, policy proposals and big changes at Bentley – is it too late for the car industry to become more sustainable? • Sustainability newsletter – February 2025 | Transatlantic divide on sustainability grows, UK charging and battery manufacturing gets a boost and Audi in a muddle • Sustainability newsletter – January 2025 | 2025 looks set to be the year of the affordable EV • Sustainability newsletter – December 2024 | Cornish Lithium’s UK sourced raw materials for electric car batteries and its wider role in carbon reduction • Sustainability newsletter – November 2024 | The Autumn Budget, sales of electric vehicles, sustainable materials and planning for the future • Sustainability newsletter – October 2024 | Industry asks government to make EVs more affordable in name of Net Zero and how sustainability works as a selling point • Sustainability newsletter – September 2024 | Road charging for electric cars, UK’s car manufacturers clean up their act and VW explores hemp-based bio interiors • Sustainability newsletter – August 2024 | Is stimulating electric car sales ‘green’ and how improved charging infrastructure is helping with the great summer getaway • Sustainability newsletter – July 2024 | Hidden carbon cost of tech, Volvo pushes for more recycled plastics and Renault secures greener supply chain for EV batteries • Sustainability newsletter – June 2024 | Farewell chrome plating, bravo for Renault’s recycled interiors and a cheer for the … circular economy for recycled tyres • Sustainability newsletter – May 2024 | Lithium is key in the production of electric car batteries, but where does it all come from and at what cost? • Sustainability newsletter – March 2024 | The importance of renewable energy in making sure electric cars really are the green choice, and one Dutch couple’s mission to prove it! • Sustainability newsletter – January 2024 | French act on heavy SUVs and embedded CO2 of imported electric cars, BYD plans European factory and Nio opens battery swapping centres • Sustainability newsletter – December 2024 | Vauxhall electrifies Britain’s streets, a second life for electric car batteries and recycled Alcantara seat fabric combines luxury and sustainability • Sustainability newsletter – November 2023 | Costs for EV batteries fall, funding for UK-sourced lithium project, GM goes renewable and Lynk & Co commits to life cycle CO2 audits • Sustainability newsletter – October 2023 | Costs for EV batteries fall, funding for UK-sourced lithium project, GM goes renewable and Lynk & Co commits to life cycle CO2 audits • Sustainability newsletter – September 2023 | Erin Baker shares her thoughts on the UK's changing net zero targets and delaying the 2030 ban for new petrol and diesel cars. • Sustainability newsletter – August 2023 | Zapmap reports increased charger installations, Lime's e-mobility revolution and Nissan's autonomous driving • Sustainability newsletter – July 2023 | Public charging network expands, hydrogen back on the agenda and choosing green tyres • Sustainability newsletter – June 2023 | BMW helps electrify the UK’s national parks and Kia ditches leather across its range of cars • Sustainability newsletter – May 2023 | What upholstery will you be choosing for your next car - leather or pleather? • Sustainability newsletter – April 2023 | Polestar’s ‘moonshot’ for a zero emissions car and a look into synthetic fuels as a possible lifeline for internal combustion classics • Sustainability newsletter – February 2023 | Our regular sustainability round-up continues with a look at some new recycled materials this month, all of which could be in your car soon • Sustainability newsletter – January 2023 | Eco awareness is driving more and more car buying decisions for a variety of reasons -here we celebrate those doing it right!