Battery Project Update: The Final Chapter
A Long Overdue Update
To all those who have followed our journey and patiently waited for news — thank you. We owe you an apology. This update is long overdue, and while we’ve had occasional nudges from some of you, we’ve struggled to share this final chapter. Some of the delay came from holding onto hope that circumstances might shift. But it’s time to be upfront.
Where Things Stand
To put it simply:
Our battery project has been largely dormant for the past couple of years, and we don’t expect that to change anytime soon.
Despite our best efforts, we have not been able to manufacture a replacement battery at a price that meaningfully undercuts current alternatives. Over the last few years, the cost of secondhand EVs — especially full vehicles — has dropped faster than the price of building replacement batteries. This trend has closed the price gap that once made our project viable.
We do have a limited number of battery components remaining, and we’re happy to build a few more units for those still interested. However, we no longer have plans to enter full-scale production.
Our Journey
When we started, the New Zealand EV market looked very different. Your only real choices were:
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A used-import Nissan Leaf with a max range of around 150 km, or
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A very expensive, limited-supply Tesla.
We saw a clear need: affordable replacement batteries for EV owners who wanted better range or needed to replace degraded packs. At the time, there was a noticeable price gap that made our solution practical and attractive.
What Changed?
Unfortunately, time and the market caught up with us:
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Now, replacing a Leaf’s battery often costs nearly the same as buying a newer model with better range.
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There are around 25 EV brands available in NZ, many now priced comparably to petrol or hybrid vehicles.
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A healthy secondhand EV market has emerged, with 3–4-year-old cars being crashed and dismantled on a regular basis.
COVID-19 struck just as our project was reaching a pivotal point. It disrupted supply chains and introduced major uncertainty. Worse still, as EV prices continued to drop and government incentives (like the $3,500 EV rebate) boosted imports, the financial case for our battery project weakened further.
Challenges We Faced
Several factors worked against us:
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EV rebate scheme reduced the price of newly imported Leafs.
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COVID disruptions made sourcing materials difficult and expensive.
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Technical perfectionism slowed our efforts to commercialize early.
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Increased availability of used batteries from crashed Leafs.
What We Achieved
Despite it all, we’re proud of what we built.
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We created a fully functional, long-lasting Leaf battery replacement.
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Our original prototype from 2019 still powers our workshop vehicle — with minimal range degradation after nearly 6 years.
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We estimate it’s still delivering a comfortable 180 km of range, and it has run in multiple vehicles with countless kilometres under its belt.
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We’ve built and deployed a dozen or so batteries into Leafs around New Zealand — and the feedback has been fantastic.
If the economics changed tomorrow, we’d gladly restart production. We believe in the quality of what we made.
For now, we’ll be wrapping up with the final few units, built for those who’ve already reached out.
Thank You
To everyone who supported us, followed our progress, or installed one of our batteries: thank you. While this chapter is ending, we’re incredibly proud of the journey and the product we delivered.
If you’re still interested in one of the remaining units or just want to reach out — we’re here.
Supporters
To our knowledge all of out supporters who made deposits for batteries have been refunded. There were many who made crowd funding donations towards the project through “Give a Little”. We appreciate these generous contributions and are grateful all the help to try and make this battery.
Many thanks!
