Photo: Nissan
Owning an electric vehicle does come with a lot of perks, the most important of which being for buyers the much lower cost of ownership. But in the not so distant future, owners of electric cars could also make some money on by keeping the electric car plugged-in in the garage.
As solutions were being sought to help national electricity grids cope with the increasing demand, the possibility of using EVs as electricity storage mediums became obvious.
Nissan, as the single mainstream carmaker currently mass producing EVs, has been toying with the idea for quite some time.
The principle is simple. An electric car runs on electricity stored in a battery. That battery can be charged from the grid to ensure the operation of the car, but can also be used to store electricity for the grid. During times of peak demand, the Nissan Leaf can, for instance, be used to supply electricity back into the grid, at the same time possibly making some money for its owner.
On Tuesday, the Leaf received regulatory approval from German authorities to do exactly that. The system, called vehicle-to-grid (V2G), has already been deployed by Nissan’s partner Renault in the Portuguese Madeira Islands and on the French island of Belle-Île-en-Mer.
"We strongly believe in an emission-free future," said in a statement cited by The New York Times Guillaume Pelletreau, Nissan Europe managing director. "Leaf batteries could make an important contribution to energy transition in Germany and a sustainable future."
The exact details on how V2G will work in Germany and what this could mean for Leaf owners were not announced.
Nissan’s Leaf is the most successful global EV currently on the market. In Europe, since the introduction of the current generation a year ago, 26,000 units were delivered.
The countries where the car is a best seller are Austria, France, Germany, The Netherlands, Portugal, and Spain.
Nissan, as the single mainstream carmaker currently mass producing EVs, has been toying with the idea for quite some time.
The principle is simple. An electric car runs on electricity stored in a battery. That battery can be charged from the grid to ensure the operation of the car, but can also be used to store electricity for the grid. During times of peak demand, the Nissan Leaf can, for instance, be used to supply electricity back into the grid, at the same time possibly making some money for its owner.
On Tuesday, the Leaf received regulatory approval from German authorities to do exactly that. The system, called vehicle-to-grid (V2G), has already been deployed by Nissan’s partner Renault in the Portuguese Madeira Islands and on the French island of Belle-Île-en-Mer.
"We strongly believe in an emission-free future," said in a statement cited by The New York Times Guillaume Pelletreau, Nissan Europe managing director. "Leaf batteries could make an important contribution to energy transition in Germany and a sustainable future."
The exact details on how V2G will work in Germany and what this could mean for Leaf owners were not announced.
Nissan’s Leaf is the most successful global EV currently on the market. In Europe, since the introduction of the current generation a year ago, 26,000 units were delivered.
The countries where the car is a best seller are Austria, France, Germany, The Netherlands, Portugal, and Spain.
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