Showcased at the COP21 summit in Le Bourget near Paris, the vehicle is the result of a partnership between Carwatt and its partners: Renault, Paris City Council, BPI France, the Alès École des Mines Engineering School, and the Bobigny Business Campus.

The prototype Trafic is powered by second-life lithium-ion batteries recycled from Renault electric cars, with Carwatt saying: “In giving a second automotive life to these batteries, Carwatt provides a good illustration of the founding principles of the circular economy, in that the whole-lifecycle battery value is optimized through successive usages.”

It added that the converting vehicles in this way bring lower pollution and less expense and said that it will work with Paris City Council next year on experiments with other Renault commercial vehicles converted to run on electricity. It added that experiments are already under way on power storage applications.