What's the news?
During this month's Nissan Futures event in London, Nissan unveiled some interesting initiatives in energy management and electric vehicle battery technology.
First up, Nissan has joined forces with power management leader Eaton to create a new residential energy storage system, which will be available to pre-order in some markets from September 2016.
The xStorage system connects to a residential power supply or renewable energy source such as solar panels. The system can then save customers money on their utility bills by charging up when renewable energy is available or energy is cheaper (e.g. during the night). The system then releases that stored energy when demand and costs are high.
Therefore, if a home is equipped with solar technology, consumers can power their houses using clean energy stored in their xStorage unit and avoid expensive daytime energy tariffs.
The xStorage unit also provides a sustainable 'second life' for Nissan's electric vehicle (EV) batteries and this is what differentiates the Nissan system from its competitors - including Tesla's Powerwall and Mercedes-Benz and its energy storage module. After their first life in cars is over, the batteries are re-used in the xStorage, which is currently powered by 12 Nissan EV battery modules. By using old EV batteries Nissan is making its energy storage unit as environmentally friendly as possible.
Speaking at the Nissan Futures event, Cyrille Brisson, Vice President Marketing, Eaton Electrical EMEA said: "Our system will be provided to end-users completely ready to use, with all required elements including cabling and installation by a certified professional, at a starting price of €4,000 for 4.2kWh nominal. Our policy is to avoid hidden extra costs and achieve a lower total cost of ownership than other major offers already announced".
Anything else?
Also announced at the Nissan Futures event was a vehicle-to-grid (V2G) trial in the UK, in partnership with energy provider Enel. The V2G trial will see Nissan EVs supply the UK's National Grid with an efficient and flexible source of energy. A trial of 100 V2G units will commence in the UK later this year. This will enable Nissan EV owners to give energy from their vehicle's battery back to the UK grid, providing a cost effective, sustainable and reliable source of power, while helping consumers save and even make money.
The system works by allowing Nissan EV owners to connect to the grid to charge at low-demand, cheap tariff periods, with an option to then use the electricity stored in the vehicle's battery at home and at work when costs are higher, or even feed back to the grid, which could generate additional revenue for the EV owner.
Basically, when the EV is parked up for the night it can power the owner's home using the stored energy in the car's battery. Currently, if all 18,000 Nissan EVs in the UK were connected to the energy network, they would generate the equivalent output of a 180mW power plant.
Speaking to CompleteCar, Nissan Ireland said: “the vehicle-to-grid will definitely make it to Ireland and we are keen to get this done asap.
The X storage system is expected to cost about £6,000 GBP and is relatively easy to install”.