AS THE record-breaking Nissan LEAF clocked up its one-billionth kilometre this week, Nissan opened the doors of its state-of-the-art battery plant in Sunderland to the outside world for the first time.
A group of invited journalists were the first ever to be given access to the secretive facility and Nissan Insider tagged along. Previously, the ultra-sophisticated £420 million plant had only been accessible to the Nissan employees who work inside.
The highly advanced facility employs more than 300 people and is responsible for the production of the lithium-ion battery packs that power the Sunderland- produced Nissan LEAF and the recently launched e-NV200 electric van, which is made in Barcelona.
Once inside, the attending journalists had to dress in compulsory protective clothing as they witnessed the production process from start to finish, touring the battery module and pack lines and the high-tech battery clean room.
Financial Times motor industry correspondent, Andy Sharman, said: “I was struck by the level of automation and the granular detail required to get the finished product.
“It’s a real privilege to witness what starts as the thinnest piece of film right through to the finished battery pack and see with your own eyes what really is a pivotal time in the motor vehicle industry.”
Even Nissan GB’s EV Category Manager, Paul O’Neill, had never seen inside the battery plant before.
He told Insider: “This is the first time that I’ve seen the production process – that’s how few people have been inside the building – and to be shown the quality of what goes on in there, and the investment in care and attention taken to achieve that quality, is phenomenal.
“After seeing the attention to even the most minute of detail, it’s easy to understand how we’ve had so few issues with the batteries in our electric vehicles.”