Nissan will place the V2G units at locations across the country agreed to by private and fleet owners of the Nissan LEAF and e-NV200 electric van, giving them the opportunity to plug in their vehicles and sell energy stored in their vehicle battery back to the system.
Nissan has partnered with Enel, a leader in grid technology and advanced energy metering, in the trial.
In one of National Grid’s future energy scenarios there could be up to 700,000 electric vehicles in the UK requiring an extra 500MW of energy, meaning innovative technology is needed to meet the added demand.
However if all Nissan vehicles in the UK were connected to the grid they would generate the equivalent output of 180MW, helping to balance the grid in the process.
Nissan said industry projections show that by 2050 there might be 2.4 billion cars on the road – twice the number today. If all vehicles in the future are electric this would reach 370GW – enough to power the UK, Germany and France.
Nissan Europe’s chairman Paul Willcox said: “Today’s landmark trial in the UK is a significant step forward in renewable energy management, helping shape the future of industries, cities and societies.
“We see Nissan electric vehicles as being the mobile energy hubs of the future, pioneering a self-sustaining energy infrastructure that will help solve the capacity issues of the future.
“This is the first time this has ever been done in the UK and by enabling customers to sell energy back to the grid, we’re providing a financial incentive to choose the sustainable option.”
The V2G technology allows Nissan owners to charge their vehicles at times of low-demand and therefore cheap tariffs, and will then give them the option of using that stored power at home and at work when electricity costs are higher.
They will also be able to sell electricity back to the grid, generating revenue and cutting the amount of generation needed to meet peak demand.
Nissan also yesterday entered the domestic storage market with the launch of its xStorage product.