Nissan Leaf to Help Power Homes

Soon, Nissan’s Leaf electric car won’t just draw power from its owners’ homes – it will help to power those buildings, the car maker says.

Nissan has unveiled a system which enables the Leaf’s lithium-ion batteries to supply electricity to households, using a connector linked to the car’s quick charging port. This allows the Leaf to be used as an electricity storage device for houses in preparation for power outages – a particular concern in Japan, where power supplies have continued to suffer interruptions following the Fukushima nuclear crisis earlier this year.

The lithium-ion batteries can store up to 24kWh of electricity, sufficient to power an average Japanese household for about two days. The system can not only supply electricity from the vehicle but also charge it to the vehicle, Nissan says.

The new system is installed at a model house in front of the Nissan global headquarters, and the company says it aims to commercialize the system during this fiscal year.

The connector complies with the CHAdeMO Association’s global protocol for quick chargers.