Nissan Energy focuses on smart charging and reuse of electric vehicle batteries

On the eve of the 2018 Los Angeles Auto Show, Nissan announced a program called Nissan Energy, designed to help individuals and communities make the transition to electric vehicles and smart grids. An important part of the Nissan Energy program involves the reuse of electric car batteries after the vehicles have reached the end of their life cycle.

"It's the future we want to build," said Denis Le Vot, president of Nissan's North American division, at a media event in Los Angeles.

The Nissan Energy program consists of three main parts, starting with the energy supply. Nissan will encourage the installation of appropriate charging stations in homes and businesses and will encourage an increase in the number of charging stations available on public lands. De Vot added that Nissan will also include location information for charging stations in its navigation systems, which means that Leaf drivers will know exactly where to charge, even if they travel to a city where they are not. never went.

Secondly, De Vot has described further integration with smart grids and smart charging systems that use fully charged electric cars as a power source during demand peaks. With a full charge, an electric car can power the home of the owner or directly to the electricity network when the demand for electricity is high, for example in the early evening, then recharge all night outside rush hours. Called bi-directional charging, this practice reduces the stresses on the electrical grid while saving money for electric car owners. it's a win-win situation.

Finally, De Vot described how Nissan is renovating used Leaf batteries for use as energy storage systems for stationary applications. He mentioned that the Amsterdam Arena – a huge football stadium in Holland – has a backup power system built from a battery of used batteries, recovered from Leaf models that are no longer on the market. road. The system has a storage capacity of 4 megawatts. However, these systems do not need to be stationary; Nissan can also use Leaf batteries to power electric forklift trucks, for example.

Similar projects are underway in Japan and China, and Nissan plans to power some of its facilities in North America with Leaf batteries. These initiatives give a second life to electric car batteries and solve the problem of their recycling once the vehicle has reached the end of its life cycle.