Breakthrough Success in Miniaturization
In 1996 Nissan became the world's first automaker to install a lithium-ion (Li-ion) battery in one of its models. In the following years, Nissan built on its rich experience and market data to achieve a compact Li-ion battery using laminated-cell construction.
Nissan's compact Li-ion battery features smaller size, higher power output, and higher capacity than conventional cylindrical cells. This makes it ideal for use in automobiles and a natural choice for electric, fuel-cell and hybrid electric vehicles.
See the following links for technical details on these batteries:
The compact Li-ion battery
Nissan LEAF Platform
Global EV and Battery Production
In Japan, Nissan and NEC Corp. launched the joint venture Automotive Energy Supply Corporation (AESC) in 2007. At the AESC plant in Zama, Kanagawa Prefecture, battery modules, which contain four battery cells, are assembled and then shipped to the Nissan Oppama facility, where 48 of them are assembled into the electric car's battery pack. Thanks in part to this streamlined process, the Oppama plant has an annual production capacity of 50,000 Nissan LEAFs.
We have also announced that preparations are underway to produce the Nissan LEAF in the United States as well. In late 2012, the Nissan plant in Smyrna, Tennessee, will be outfitted to produce EVs, as well as lithium-ion battery packs. When this plant gets up to full speed it is expected to produce 150,000 EVs and 200,000 battery packs per year, and create some 1,300 new jobs in the state.
In Europe, we are planning to begin production of 60,000 battery packs per year in 2012 at our Sunderland Plant in the United Kingdom. In the first half of the following year, this plant will also see the launch of EV production, with capacity to reach 50,000 vehicles annually. We expect these new U.K.
operations to create 200 new jobs within Nissan and 600 positions in our supply chain. Battery production will also begin at Renault's plant in Cacia, Portugal, in December 2013, with capacity of 50,000 Nissan lithium-ion battery packs per year.
In 2015, the Renault-Nissan Alliance is projected to have an annual global production capacity of 500,000 EVs and 500,000 battery packs.
Our 4R Business for Batteries
A Closed Energy Cycle for a Low-Carbon Society
The high-performance lithium-ion batteries used in Nissan's EVs retain up to 80% of their initial capacity after five years of use under average conditions. This means these batteries still have useful roles to play even when they are no longer used in vehicles.
In September 2010, Nissan and Sumitomo Corporation launched 4R Energy Corp., a joint venture to develop secondary-use business opportunities for used EV batteries. This company is pursuing the four Rs-reusing, reselling, refabricating and recycling lithium-ion batteries to find ways to put them to effective use in non-automotive second life applications including energy storage solutions. The intent is to add new value to used batteries and establish a closed energy cycle that will contribute to the realization of a lowcarbon society in the future.
