How can electric vehicles further add to sustainability, how can EV batteries be optimised for energy efficiency, these are some of the many questions stakeholders are exploring to find the optimal usage for energy storage.

Japanese carmaker Nissan, is one of the leading OEMs globally that is working on driving green mobility as well finding higher usage application for its EVs. The company says a trial using Nissan Leaf electric cars to help power office buildings has proved successful in cutting energy costs and CO2 emissions. The pilot project was launched in December 2018 by Nippon Telegraph and Telephone West, NTT Smile Energy and Nissan using the Nissan Energy Share technology.

The project uses solar panels mounted on carports to generate energy that helps power an office building. The batteries in the Nissan Leaf EV are used to store and discharge energy, along with stationary storage systems. Depending on how much electricity is being generated and consumed at any given time, the EVs and stationary systems are remotely directed to charge or discharge energy.

By discharging energy during periods of peak demand in summer, the Nissan Leaf cars contributed to a 14.1 kilowatt-hour total reduction in energy use from the grid over a 30-minute interval.

The solar panels accounted for 6.6 kWh of this reduction and the LEAF vehicles accounted for 7.5 kWh. The companies plan to conduct their next trial under winter conditions, which will examine the effect of discharging energy from the stationary storage systems and also study how to avoid new peak demand periods that may be caused by people charging their EVs, as electric cars become more widespread.

NTT Group has committed to EV100, a global initiative bringing together companies that are committed to establishing EV infrastructure and accelerating the transition to electric vehicles. The group plans to fully electrify its car fleet by 2030.

Nissan has sold more than 430,000 Nissan LEAF vehicles since introducing the 100-percent electric, zero-emission model in 2010. The company has launched numerous partnerships around the world under its Nissan Energy initiative, aimed at saving energy and reducing emissions by connecting EVs with homes, buildings and electric grids.