Nissan has joined forces with three energy-technology companies to develop a way to use retired lithium-ion battery packs from electric vehicles to store electricity from the public power grid during off-peak hours, and then make it available for use when electricity use is heavy, such as hot summer afternoons.

Franklin-based Nissan North America Inc. said Wednesday that the technology it will explore with the energy companies would allow batteries from its Leaf electric cars to be converted to backup power sources for residential and commercial use after they are removed from the cars.

When the battery packs no longer have enough power for practical use in the Leaf, they will still have about 70 percent of their capacity left, Nissan said. That would make them useful in large arrays to take a charge from the power grid during off-peak hours, such as the middle of the night, and give that energy back when needed, including during short-term blackouts.

A team including representatives from Nissan and the partners — Switzerland-based ABB, 4R Energy of Japan and Sumitomo Corp. of America — plans to develop a battery-storage system that, in each installation, could provide up to 50 kilowatt-hours of electricity.

Nissan says that would be enough electricity to power about 15 homes for up to two hours.

“It’s important to Nissan that we manage the complete life cycle of the electric vehicle battery pack, even beyond its use in a Nissan car,” said Ken Srebnik, senior manager of corporate planning for Nissan North America.

“Innovations in energy storage systems are becoming more viable as the electric grid gets smarter, and Nissan is proud to work with ABB, 4R Energy and Sumitomo to help bring these possibilities to market,” he said.

The question of what would become of the batteries once their useful life has passed has been a key environmental issue in the development of electric vehicles, and Nissan has been looking for ways to recycle them. With this idea, the batteries could have several more years of use beyond their initial duty in electric cars, where they are already expected to remain productive for 10 years or more — what Nissan considers the life of the car.