Fresh from unveiling its latest LEAF model and new electricity grid and home storage offerings yesterday, Nissan has confirmed plans for three pilot projects next year aimed at expanding power grid and mobility access to developing world communities.
Each of the as yet unnamed projects will focus on providing access to energy and mobility in regions where energy and transport provision is unavailable or unreliable, the firm said. The projects are expected to deploy technologies such as home battery storage systems, electric vehicles, and local microgrids.
All three projects will be piloted and assessed in 2018, and could be expanded beyond the initial regions should they prove successful, Nissan said, promising that progress updates would be published throughout the year.
The announcement was made yesterday in Oslo, where Nissan unveiled the new version of its LEAF electric passenger car, alongside plans for a new e-NV200 electric van, investment in its European fast charging network, and a new range of home charging and power storage systems.
Gareth Dunsmore, electric vehicle director at Nissan Europe, said around 1.3 billion people worldwide live in communities where power generation and access to electricity is restricted, highlighting a clear need to expand electricity and mobility to these new markets.
“With a rapidly rising, urbanising global population, problems like access to energy, climate change, and poor air quality all risk getting worse rather than better,” said Dunsmore. “We’ve been asking ourselves: ‘How can we use our global reach and history of innovation, to help build a brighter, electric future for everyone?’ What better place to start than by bringing power and mobility to people in a sustainable and equitable way?”
One of the projects will see Nissan build a micro-grid system to provide power for local communities without access to electricity in a developing country in a bid to boost healthcare and education provision, the firm said.
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