A three megawatt energy storage system powered by used electric car batteries has gone live at the Johan Cruijff ArenA (formerly known as the Amsterdam ArenA).

Using power supplied by the equivalent of 148 Nissan LEAF batteries, the system can supply the stadium, its visitors, neighbours and the Dutch energy grid.

The system has enough power to supply several thousand households, meaning that the energy gleaned by the stadium’s 4,200 solar panels on the roof can be stored and use optimally.

“Thanks to this energy storage system, the stadium will be able to use its own sustainable energy more intelligently and, as Amsterdam Energy ArenA BV (a separate incorporated company), it can trade batteries’ available storage capacity,” said Henk van Raan, the stadium’s director of innovation.

The batteries have been sourced from Nissan, one of the many partners for this initiative.

Other partners include BAM and The Mobility House, while the project is being supported by Amsterdam Climate Energy Fund (AKEF) and Interreg.

“The ArenA is assured of a considerable amount of power, even during an outage,” van Raan added. “As a result, the stadium will contribute to a stable Dutch energy grid. The Johan Cruijff ArenA is one of the most sustainable stadiums in the world and leads the way in introducing smart innovations like this unique energy storage system.”

Indeed, the stadium has been asked by Amsterdam’s municipality to design a smart city concept after ploughing €50m into creating more sustainable automated systems. Read more about the plans here.