Advert
Nissan is developing plans for thousands of quick chargers , to enable electric vehicle owners to recharge their cars to 80% in less than 30 minutes .
Nissan is also aiming to halve the cost of the equipment, by teaming up with leading European utility and electrical vehicle supply equipment companies. The outcome will be faster development of cheaper, smaller, quick chargers for electric vehicle batteries, and acceleration of the installation of publicly-available Quick Charge (QC) points across Europe.
This agreement between Nissan, Circutor, DBT, Efacec, Endesa and Siemens is expected to result in a dramatic reduction in the price of the units- by over half to under €10K – paving the way for businesses such as service stations, car park operators and retail outlets to install quick chargers and run them profitably as a commercial enterprise. This will mean Nissan LEAF drivers, and other quick charge-enabled vehicles, could use their car for longer journeys and recharge the car’s battery to 80% capacity in less that half an hour.
As a result, it is expected that there will now be thousands of QCs across Europe by the end of 2012, and tens of thousands by 2015. This infrastructure will open up Nissan LEAF ownership to a whole new spectrum of buyers who occasionally need to do longer journeys.
A quick charge allows the battery to be topped up in little more time than it takes to refuel a conventional car, and of course the owner can leave the Nissan LEAF while it is being ‘refuelled’ to have lunch or take a break.
A Cha de Mo DC quick charger delivers 50 kW of high voltage direct current (DC) electricity straight to the battery, speeding up the charging process.
Nissan LEAF has a range between charges of up to 109 miles as tested over the New European Driving Cycle (NEDC). Increased opportunities for quick charging will mean that a quick power boost will give Nissan LEAF customers greater driving opportunities.
The challenge to build cheaper and smaller quick chargers will be met by combining the game-changing Nissan QC technology unveiled in the new Nissan DC quick charger, together with the regional strength of European partners.
Compliant with charging policies of European countries, the QCs are also AC quick charge ready to support the arrival of AC quick charging cars.
Deliveries of the Nissan LEAF have already begun in the UK, the Netherlands, the Republic of Ireland, France, Spain and Portugal. Order books have also opened in Switzerland, Belgium, Norway, Sweden and Denmark, with customers in those markets expected to start receiving their cars shortly.
