Nissan’s EVs are helping to power countries
Japanese car manufacturer Nissan has received praise from the Association of Resilience Japan for its motivated promotion of EVs to the public.
In addition to the known environmental benefits of converting to EVs, the Association also praised Nissan’s car design, which can allow customers to use the vehicle as an emergency source of energy in the wake of a natural disaster event.
In a country where power outages are currently more frequent than elsewhere, Nissan’s innovative concept could help millions of people in need during difficult times.
Making EVs indispensable
Nissan is currently in talks with local authorities and companies to ensure that the extended problems caused by power outages in the country have a convenient solution.
4R Energy, an energy company focusing on circular economic principles, has already stepped in to collaborate on a design for a stationary battery made from Nissan’s EV batteries, which can then be used to store solar energy from PV (photovoltaic) panels.
As one of the world’s foremost EV manufacturers, the company is unrelenting in its ambition to highlight the benefits of its products and inspiring consumers to make the conversion.
Easing the transition to 100% renewable energy
A recent collaboration with TenneT and The Mobility House has seen its LEAF models used to stabilise German power grids during periods of peak demand.
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The need for this is caused by power bottlenecks originating from Germany’s decentralised renewable energy network, which is currently inefficiently structured and often requires input from fossil fuels to remain stable.
Instead of falling back on fossil fuels, energy stored in the LEAFs can be connected to the grid and used instead, thus saving costs and increasing sustainability.
"The pilot project has shown that we can use electromobility in the future to flexibly control the weather-dependent renewable electricity production,” said Tim Meyerjürgens, MD of TenneT.
“The short-term flexibility that electric mobility provides us with can supplement the grid expansion and become an important building blockfor the energy transition."
Although the improvement offered by this method is a bridging solution and not a permanent fix, Nissan is still glad that its cars can be part of any solution - each kWh of wind generated energy mitigates 737g of carbon from being emitted.
“In this way [EVs] can help to make the power grid more sustainable and stable. At Nissan, we were looking for ways to use electric vehicles beyond driving as decentralized energy storage solutions,” said Francisco Carranza, MD of Nissan Energy.
“Today, our EVs are not only changing the way we drive, but also the way we live."