Thursday 25 May 2017

Nissan-Northern Powergrid aim to drive innovation

Electric vehicle (EV) manufacturer Nissan and Northern Powergrid have joined forces to explore a range of innovative projects over the next six years.

The two organisations, through a new Memorandum of Understanding, will look at how EVs, batteries and other technologies can support energy networks.

The projects will include exploring how new technologies can enhance the capacity, capability and resilience of the power networks across the North East, Yorkshire and northern Lincolnshire to make it more active and responsive.

Northern Powergrid is responsible for the network that keeps the lights on for 3.9 million homes and businesses across those regions.

Nissan last year launched the vehicle-to-grid (V2G) technology, which creates mobile energy hubs by integrating large numbers of EVs directly into the grid.

Nissan LEAF owners can connect and charge their vehicle during low demand, cheap tariff periods and later use the electricity stored in the vehicle’s battery at a time when costs are higher.

They can also send it back to the grid to generate additional returns.

Jim Cardwell, Head of Trading and Innovation at Norther Powergrid said: “This signals the start of a ground-breaking industry partnership to explore new innovations that could support the creation of smarter, greener energy networks and help shape future technologies to support the efficient roll out of electric vehicles.”