NISSAN is to lead a consortium of leading energy providers to run a Vehicle-to-Grid demonstrator project, following a £9.8m award by the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy.
The project foundation is for a large-scale demonstrator targeting 1,000 Vehicle-to-Grid (V2G) installations that will evaluate a commercial offer to electric vehicle fleet customers. The chargers will be controlled by an aggregator, and data will be collected to understand the technical characteristics of vehicle to grid charging for both the vehicles and the electricity networks.
Joining Nissan in the consortium will be V2G infrastructure/aggregator provider Nuvve, the energy community represented by National Grid and two Distribution Network Operators (DNOs) — UK Power Networks and Northern Powergrid, with varied grid infrastructure. The research and analysis activities will be supported by Newcastle University and Imperial College London.
Vehicle-to-Grid technology and this project will leverage Nissan’s brand commitment to Nissan Intelligent Mobility to transform the way people drive and live, creating a more exciting and sustainable future.
Francisco Carranza, Managing Director of Nissan Energy at Nissan Europe said: “Nissan has been saying for a long time that the future is electric. That forward thinking led us to produce the world’s most successful mass market EV – the Nissan LEAF.
“Today, our electric vehicles are not just transforming the way we drive, but also the way we live.
“We now look at our cars as so much more than products which simply move people from A to B – they are an intrinsic part of the way we consume, share, and generate energy. This will have a fundamental impact on the shift from fossil fuels to renewables.
“Our EVs can be plugged into the grid and support the transmission and distribution companies in making the UK grid more sustainable and more stable. The increase of electric vehicles penetration, the introduction of more and more distributed generation and storage and the overall increase in renewable energy penetration should be done smartly.
“To ensure Nissan plays a wider role in the advancement and protection of our cities, our electric V2G-ready vehicles will be used as clean mobile energy units.
“Nissan has also reiterated its bold mission to offer customers free power for their EVs. V2G introduction will change the rules of the game and make energy cheaper for everyone.”
Nissan is at the forefront of Vehicle-to-Grid technology. The integration of V2G technology brings to life Nissan’s Intelligent Mobility vision, demonstrating how zero-emission vehicles such as the 100 percent electric Nissan LEAF and e-NV200 and energy management technologies can work in tandem to create a cleaner and more efficient energy network.
V2G technology allows electric vehicles to be fully integrated into the electricity grid and will help improve grid capability to handle renewable power, making renewable sources even more widely integrated and affordable.
Nissan has invested in Vehicle-to-Grid technology since 2015, following the commitment at the 21st UN Conference on Climate Change (COP21) to trial V2G technology in Europe.
