Nissan Selects AeroVironment for Leaf Chargers

[kristopher]

Nissan Selects AeroVironment for Leaf Chargers and Ford’s New Focus

Nissan has selected AeroVironment to install home charging stations for the Leaf, the all-electric car coming to Japan and the U.S. later this year.

The AeroVironment chargers will provide 220 volts of power and charge a Leaf fully in about eight hours. Nissan is working with utilities to ensure that the charging takes place after the peak power hours (2 p.m. to 6 p.m.) and likely past the mini-peak (7 p.m. to 9 p.m.) when the American family atomizes and goes off to play video games and watch YouTube videos in isolation. An electric car, to the grid, can be like adding a new house to a neighborhood so timed charging will be necessary to prevent brown-outs. AeroVironment came out of the defense industry: it specializes in tech for unmanned aerial vehicles.

Nissan is taking a multi-faceted approach to charging with the Leaf. It is working with Ecotality, among others, in the U.S. on public charging stations. One thing Nissan won't do in the U.S.-- support battery swapping stations from Better Place. Instead, Nissan will try to work with companies that can build 480 volt chargers that can recharge a car in about a half an hour. Renault-Nissan is working with Better Place in Israel and Denmark (Check out the Leaf test drive here.). Over time, the company will try to determine what charging strategy works best in which regions...

http://www.greentechmedia.com/articles/read/in-detroit-nissan-selects-aerovironment-for-leaf-chargers-and-fords-new-foc