Italian energy technology to support Nissan electric cars

Rome - The first "vehicle to grid" (V2G) equipment to recharge electric cars is being launched in Italy, under an agreement signed by Enel Energia [the Italian national power company], Nissan Italia and the Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia (IIT). A corporate electric car sharing pilot project has been set up, with V2G recharging stations to be installed in the premises of IIT, in Genoa. It was announced that V2G technology means electric cars can be regarded as "batteries on wheels", capable of accumulating energy and giving it back to the grid if not totally used. This is possible thanks to a bi-directional charging system on the charging stations and cars. The stations at IIT will still run uni-directionally, but will be part of an ITT pilot development project, pending new national regulations. Nissan provided IIT with 2 "Leaf" model 100 percent electric vehicles, and a management platform on an app named Glide.

Enel Energia installed two V2G recharging stations at the Genoa premises of the institute. "Today, we consider automobiles as batteries on wheels," said Ernesto Ciorra, Enel's sustainability and innovation director. "The V2G system is a technology that will improve the electric system performance and create value for car owners. This is consistent with Enel's vision of innovation, and contributes to improve environmental conditions in the areas we live in. In the light of our 'Open Innovation' idea, Enel has signed an agreement also with IIT to develop energy-efficient innovative technologies and solutions, but also to focus on renewables and distributed energy generation, representing a major stride forward in the sustainable alternative energy research."

"We are fully pursuing our concrete commitment for the development of a sustainable, zero-emission, Intelligent Mobility which is meant to be also safe, hazard-free and interconnected. This is the rationale of launching in Italy MOV-E, Nissan's first corporate electric car sharing project, which will start with the Genoa-based Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia, one of the world's centres of technological excellence," said Bruno Mattucci, CEO of Nissan Italia.