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Nissan has announced it will launch a V2G package in the UK from 2026, offering half-price energy to owners who install an ‘affordable’ bi-directional charger and choose one of Nissan’s new generation of electric cars.
The Vehicle to Grid technology allows owners to use electricity stored in their car’s battery to power their homes, or sell it back into the grid. It will launch in the UK initially, followed by other markets in Europe.
Following a successful year-long project at The University of Nottingham, Nissan has become the first car company to gain official certification with an AC-based charger, which is needed to supply electricity into the UK national grid. Most previous V2G trials have used DC supplies which the charge unit then has to convert, making them much bulkier and more expensive.
Nissan says it aims to offer its V2G charger at a price comparable to a conventional charger available today. It also claims V2G tech can cut the annual cost of powering an EV by 50% and also reduce net CO2 emissions from charging by 30% per year, per EV for the average UK household. Heavier users may even be able to reduce their energy bills to £0 by selling power from their car back to the grid at times of high demand.
EVs equipped with V2G technology can store electricity generated by wind or solar, and direct it back into the grid when needed, reducing dependency on fossil fuels.
The V2G UK trial has been partly funded by the UK Government’s Advanced Propulsion Centre UK (APC), a body established to support and accelerate the automotive industry’s transition towards net zero.
During the trial, Nissan worked with several partners including Dreev and Enovates. Dreev, a division of energy supplier EDF, was responsible for data collection, customer profiling and setting the charging and discharging plan by analysing information from the wall box. Enovates, a Belgian-based technology company, developed the wall box.
The University of Nottingham was also pivotal in the trial, providing a base of operations at its on-campus Creative Energy Homes and supporting academic research.
Despite links between Nissan and Renault, the new system is not the same as the V2G tech announced last year by Renault, which will be available on the new 5 E-Tech this year. Kia has also announced that it will offer V2G, with the EV9 and new EV6 both compatible with the systems.
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