UnpluggedStoryofNissanx27sPursuitforZeroEmiss

1、Nissans Pursuit for Zero Emission Mobility:The Unplugged Story From Tama to Pivo2, A Look Back at 60 years of Nissans EV DevelopmentThe Dawn of the EV AgeHisotherconcernwasthebatteriesthemselves.Thornehadselectedthenew lithium-ion batteries from Nissan, which were extremely efficient on a weight bas

2、is.The above quote could easily be from a government official at a pitch for a future fleetof zero emission vehicles.In reality, the source is a scene from Michael Crichton 1990 noveland later blockbuster movieJurassic Park.Nearlytwodecadeslater ,Nissanisstillanindustryleaderinlithium-ionbattery dev

3、elopment.However, the real story of Nissans history of Electric Vehicles startsmuch earlier, though not quite in the Jurassic era, in 1947.It was a unique period in the auto industry and the development of electric vehicles.Due to the post-World War II energy shortage at that time, the Japanese gove

4、rnment encouraged entrepreneursto produce EVs to cope with the crisis.Tama (1947)T ama Electric Car was created by Tokyo Electric Cars Companyone of the ancestorsof Prince Motor Co., Ltd., which later merged with Nissan. Developed by military aviation engineers who lost their jobs at the end of the

5、war , the Tama utilized replaceable lead-acid batteries and generated3.3kW power and a top speedof 35 km/h (22 mph).With a cruising range of 65 km (40 miles), they were used mainly astaxis. A compact pickup version was available as well.Tama s replaceable lead-acid batteryLegend has it that the Tama

6、 marked a maximum speed of 35.2km/h (22 mph) andcruisedfor96km(60miles),farbetterthanthebrochurespecifications,inaMinistry-conducted test.The car was sold until 1950, when Japan was well underway and oil supplies were stabilized.-warsrepcoosvt eryLi-ion on the PrairieToday,withoilfuturesagainuncerta

7、inandtheeco-systemunderstress,itgoes without saying that the evolution of battery technology corresponds with social needand an entrepreneurial spiritboth driving forces behind the development of NissanEVs.Automotive application of lithium-ion (Li-ion) batteries began in 1990, led bySonyCorporation.

8、JustadayafterSony sofficialannouncement,Nissanbegan collaboration with the company.The first fruit of their efforts was in 1995, when Nissan launched the Prairie EV, the worlds first electric car with Li-ion battery power.Although the Prairie EV was limitedto fleet sales, around 30 units were sold t

9、o various entities.Themajority of the industry, evenourcolleagues,were skeptical about theLi-ion system, recalls Hideaki Horie, Expert Leader at EV Technology Development Division.WechosetheLi-ionbatterybecausewebelievedinitspotentialandpossibleapplicationsforvehicles,muchhigherthanthenickelhydrideb

10、atteriesthatwere common at that time.Hideaki HorieEV on IceOne of the most unusual applications of the Prairie EV was the years it spent under extreme polar conditions as a support vehicle for the Japanese National North PoleExploratory Team.In 2000, when the Prairie EV was undergoing cold weather t

11、esting at Nissan s Hokkaido Proving Ground, the owner of the inn where the evaluation group was staying told them that the International Arctic Research team was looking for anEV to use at their research station in Ny-Alesund, Svalbard, Norwaywhich at 79 the world s most Northerly settlement.NisNiss

12、an engineers thought it would be a great opportunity for an extended extreme coldtestwhich they themselves could monitor from warmer locations.It was arrangedto loan the arctic researchers a Prairie EV fitted with a cylindrical Li-Ion battery.The Prairie EV, with no Nissan support or maintenance, se

13、rved as the daily transportationfrom the base research station to the town and airport and, most importantly, whileconducting meteorological observations.Zero emissions vehicles are critical for such use in order to not contaminate the research data with CO2 emissions.“ The Nissan EV became a symbol

14、 of our pledge at the International Arctic Research Villagethattheenvironmentwouldnotbedamagedbytheexecutionofresearch activities,recallsDr.HajimeIto,ChairNySMAC.“ VIPs visitingourvillagewerewelcomed at the airstrip by the Prairie EV, which transported them to town without the slightest noise or exh

15、aust gas.It was also an excellent vehicle for scientific purposes, such as the observation of wild animals, which you could approach without sound orsmell.In 2006, after six flawless yearsof service, the Prairie EVstopped running.Since Ny-Alesund, with a permanent population of just 35 residents, la

16、cked a Nissan dealership, the vehicle was returned to Nissan for investigation and evaluation.When the car was examined, Nissan engineers were delighted to find that the problem wassimply a disconnected condenser . Once repaired, the Prairie EV started right up (though cell performance had degenerat

17、ed slightly but within projections), proving thefeasibility and durability of the Li-Ion battery under extreme conditions.Prairie EV at the Arctic Environment Research Center, Ny-Alesund, NorwayLA StoryIn1997,twoyearsaftertheintroductionofthePrairieEV,Nissanrevealedthe lithium-ionbatteryequippedAltr

18、aEV(calledtheRnessaEVinJapan).This award-winning electric minivan (honored as one of the greenest cars byGreen Guide to Cars and Trucksin 1999) was sold both in Japan and the United States, though onlyan estimated 200 units were produced.Theinitialunitsweredeliveredtoutilitycompanies,includingSouthe

19、rnCalifornia Edison Company, Pacific Gas and Electric Company, and the Los Angeles Department ofWater and Power.They were even used as meter maid cars (parking enforcementvehicles) by the Santa Monica Police Department.For a brief period, you could also rent an Altra EV at the Los Angeles Internatio

20、nal Airport.Altra EV (1997)Partminivan,partSUV ,partstationwagon,theAltraEVhadarelativelylong wheelbase of 2,799 mm (110.2 inches) and 4,869 mm (191.7 inches) lengthnearly identical to the 2021 Nissan Maxima s 2,776 mm (109.3 inches) wheelbase and 4,841 mm (190.6 inches) length.Chargingwasbyaproven,

21、safe,user-friendlyinductivebatterychargingsystem through an electromagnetic paddle inserted into a charge port located in the front grille.The83-horsepower(62kW)synchronousmotorutilizedahigh-performance Neodymium-Iron-Bornalloyinternalmagnetratedatanapproximately89percent operating efficiency.The Al

22、tra EV s-m1o2dule Li-Ion battery pack was located underthe passenger compartment floor and offered a“ real wdorirvlding range (combinedcity/highway)of130km(80miles).Italsooffereda4-wheelAnti-lockBraking System(ABS),regenerativebraking,a120km/h(75mph)topspeedandan 800-pound passenger/cargo capacity.A

23、ltra EV drivers were treated to amenities suchas air conditioning, power windows and door locks, a premium audio system and dual supplemental air bags.Electric Movie StarFully Charged for the FutureShortly after the introduction of the Altra EV, Nissan challenged itself to develop a more compact and

24、 less utilitarian dedicated EV.The result was the legendary Hypermini, which debuted in 1999.Hypermini (1999)Hypermini featured a lightweight, highly rigid aluminum space-frame and was fittedwithaneodymiummagnetsynchronoustractionmotorandhighperformance lithium-ionbatteries.Ittookaboutfourhourstorec

25、hargethebatteriesusinga 200-volt non-contact inductive AC charger.Hyperminis driving range was 115 km(72 miles) on a single battery charge and it had a top speed of about 100 km/h (62mph).ThecarwaswidelyusedinJapanandU.S.,includingattheUniversityof California, Davis and a car-sharing project in Yoko

26、hama.At just 2655 mm (8.3 feet) in length and 1550 mm (5 feet) tall, the dramatically styledtwo-seat Hypermini garnered attention wherever it went.It even appeared in twoU.S.-producedmovies,ThePrincessDiaries2andSleepover,andaJapaneseTV animation series,Shigofumi.The turn of the century was a turnin

27、g point for battery systems as well.Nissan took amajorstepforwardandstarteddevelopingcompactlaminatedLi-ionbatteries togetherwithNEC,replacingthecylindricalcellusedupuntilthen.Thenewly developed laminated batteries are able to store double the energy in the same size.Inotherwords,sameamountofenergyp

28、ackedinthecurrysauce,insteadofa magnum bottle of champagne.Cylindrical typeLaminated typeTheevolutionofbatterydevelopmenthasacceleratedinthe lastdecadethanksin large part to innovations in home and personal electronics, especially cellular phones.We can even say that battery innovation owes a debt t

29、o the high school girls in the streets of Shibuya, who are extremely demanding, heavy cell phone users, said Horie.They are eager to have more chat, more emails, in less charging time.The boom of cell phones definitely accelerated the enhancement of battery technologies.The impact of the ongoing red

30、uction ofbatteries size has been felt not only in cell phones and computers, but also in designing cars.Youll be unleashed from various constraints if you choose an electric powertrain, saidShiro Nakamura, senior vice president, Design, Nissan Motor Co., Ltd.For example,it allows you to make the hoo

31、d very low, contributing tothe vehicle style.You can make the center of gravity very low by putting the battery under theaerosdynamics andfloor , or you can even place the motor in the wheel.And ultimately, you can separatethe cabin and the platformthanks to the x-by-wire technology.We wanted to sho

32、w examples of this freedom of design and mobility for the future with the Pivo and thePivo2.These concepts feature rotating cabins and the ability to make the four wheels move individually.Pivo (2005)Pivo2 (2007)The original Pivo was one of the stars of the 2005 Tokyo Motor Show, a feat followed bythe n