Nissan to open battery plants in UK and Portugal

Publication date: 27 July 2009

Nissan Motor Company, within the Renault-Nissan Alliance, has announced its plans to build two plants for the production of its advanced lithium-ion batteries in Europe. In doing so, the Renault-Nissan Alliance marks the first significant step towards producing batteries for its Zero Emission Mobility Program in Europe.

The UK site will be located in Sunderland where Nissan already has an existing manufacturing facility. This will become the Nissan European Mother Site for Battery production and the centerpiece of the newly established Low Carbon Economic Area in the North East of England through which the UK government intends to establish a new training centre, specialising in low carbon automotive technologies; a technology park and an open access test track for low carbon vehicles.

In Portugal, several possible sites for the battery plant have been identified and the final selection will be announced at a later date. Last November, Portugal became the first European country to sign a final agreement with the Alliance for implementing a zero emission mobility programme from 2010. Within this plan, the Alliance will supply its EVs  from Spring 2011, and the Portuguese Government will leverage an extensive network of 1,300 recharging stations that will be in place across Portugal over the next 2 years.

The Portuguese Government has signed an agreement with 25 cities and key motorways and parking players aiming the implementation of a recharging network that will secure a full coverage of the country. Additionally it was presented the prototype of those recharging stations. This advanced station has been developed by a Portuguese consortium in collaboration with Nissan.

Renault-Nissan says it is committed to being a leader in zero-emissions mobility.  It will offer electric vehicles in the United States and Japan beginning in 2010 ahead of mass marketing to consumers in 2012 globally.

Source: World Highways