Nissan powers French office with world’s largest EV battery storage system

Japanese car manufacturer Nissan will power its regional office in France with energy generated from its electric vehicles, by deploying the world's largest grid-integrated battery storage unit in a building.


Italian energy supplier Enel will supply the Nissan with 100 vehicle-to-grid chagers, allowing the carmaker’s range of EV’s to plug in and draw down energy from the grid at off-peak periods, with the ability to sell back the stored energy to the grid. 

The new energy storage system – discribed by Nissan as a potential “game-changer” – will also feature a 1MW energy storage system, managed by battery storage firm Eaton, which will be powered by 64 Nissan LEAF second life EV batteries combined with solar energy generation.

The system will be used to power Nissan’s regional offices in the commune of Montigny le Bretonneux, slashing energy costs and decreasing the building’s dependence on contracted power consumed from local electricity suppliers.

Nissan hopes to extend the innovation to all major Nissan facilities across the world within the next few years.

Speaking at the Geneva Motor Show this week, Nissan Europe’s chairman Paul Willcox said: “At Nissan, we’re going beyond product. Innovation is about more than creating something new. It’s about making something better and finding solutions for the future.

“Nissan’s electric vehicle batteries extend our expertise beyond production to finding new and innovative ways to store and transfer energy. By demonstrating that electric vehicles can play an integral part in the energy management systems of the future, this project is a watershed moment on our journey towards a fully electric future.”

Storage soars

Nissan has previously teamed up with energy storage provider Green Charge Networks to implement used Leaf batteries into commercial energy storage systems.

Nissan’s partner in the EV market Renault has also ventured into energy storage after announcing a partnership with UK firm Connected Energy which will see old Renault EV batteries converted into energy storage units.

Earlier this year, Innovate UK brushed aside ongoing fears around using electric and plug-in vehicles as an energy storage facility, insisting they present a “car park of energy storage” for UK network companies after 2025.

Matt Mace

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