Nissan will be hopping on the boat with Ford Motor Company, BMW, and American Honda in a joint venture to improve electric vehicle charging, according to AutomotiveNews and official releases from BMW and Nissan. Some time ago, Ford, BMW, and Honda originally joined forces to create ChargeScape, a conglomerate set up specifically to create a new standard and help unify charging infrastructure to support the electric strategy of all three companies, and now, Nissan is joining the collaboration.
There’s no argument that electric vehicles do work as cars, but one of the biggest challenges to the adoption of EVs is the lack of sufficient or convenient charging infrastructure (Tesla’s Supercharger network need not apply). With ChargeScape, the contributing automakers hope to set a standard for EV charging to help support its electric vehicle strategies and improve the overall experience for the customer.
Nissan Will Become A 25% Equal Investor And Partner In ChargeScape
According to the official releases by both BMW and Nissan, the Japanese automaker will become a 25% partner and equal investor in the collaboration, which hopes to roll out ChargeScape services across America and Canada in the coming years. The goal is to provide a comprehensive charging experience for future owners of BMW, Nissan, Honda, and Ford EVs, so that concerns over inconvenient charging station locations and range anxiety can be alleviated.
In the most recent step forward, ChargePoint just launched its latest software that allows applications to connect the companies’ electric vehicles for real-time charging updates and grid conditions for EV owners. This will allow drivers to make better informed decisions for the best times to charge up since electricity rates can vary hourly according to demand throughout the day. This is called V1G or V2G smart charging.
According to ChargePoint, its new software will even allow EVs to wirelessly connect to the power grid to help improve overall grid stability depending on daily and hourly demand, while also potentially saving EV owners money on charging.
“We are delighted to welcome Nissan to the ChargeScape joint venture,” Joseph Vellone, ChargeScape’s CEO, said in an official statement. “Nissan’s decision to join us underscores their commitment to helping customers charge more cheaply and sustainably and highlights ChargeScape’s central position in the vehicle-grid integration space.”
On Nissan’s end, the company is utilizing its knowledge obtained from producing and selling over 650,000 LEAF EVs since its original launch in 2010 to develop the latest V2X (Vehicle-To-Everything) charging software that helps EV owners and drivers optimize their charing experience based on the availability and price of electricity on the grid. The software also allows for the optimization of charging where EVs could feed back into the grid, depending on the demand, and compensate the owners accordingly.
“ChargeScape helps us more conveniently and effectively connect utilities to EV drivers, making the ownership experience more valuable for drivers by giving them incentives for participating in managed charging and vehicle-to-grid programs,” Kent O’Hara said, president of Nissan’s 4R battery business. “Joining ChargeScape helps us contribute to a nationwide reduction in CO2 emissions by enabling utilities to use EV battery energy storage to balance peak grid demands while optimizing the use of renewable electricity sources.”
Source: Nissan, BMW via AutomotiveNews
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