Nissan Receives £10 Million UK Government Grant to Develop Technology for Reducing EV Charging Costs
2026-06-24 15:06
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en.Wedoany.com Reported - Nissan is leading a research and development project called Suite, which has received a £10 million grant from the UK government. The project aims to develop technologies that make electric vehicle charging more efficient and affordable, reduce energy costs for users, and promote greater utilization of renewable energy.

The project is led by engineers at the Nissan Europe Technical Centre in Cranfield and integrates onboard solar panels, smart charging systems, artificial intelligence technology, and vehicle-to-grid (V2G) solutions. These innovations will be tested on the UK-built Nissan LEAF 100% electric vehicle to verify their performance under real-world conditions.

Suite is an acronym for Smart Use of Integrated Technology for EVs. The project aims to combine advanced power electronics, intelligent demand management, and renewable energy integration from the vehicle itself to address the challenge of rising energy costs for home and public charging.

The three-year program is conducted under the UK government's £4 billion Drive35 initiative, managed by the Department for Business and Trade, in collaboration with the Advanced Propulsion Centre (APC) UK and Innovate UK. Nissan coordinates a consortium of ten industrial and academic partners.

The planned technologies include tandem solar panels integrated into the vehicle. Their function is to provide renewable energy to the battery, increasing the driving range per charge and reducing the frequency with which users need to connect to the grid, thereby potentially impacting household electricity bills.

The project also includes an Intelligent Charge Management System (ICMS) designed to manage users' electricity consumption. This system will optimize energy use and feed surplus renewable energy back to the grid when the vehicle is not in use.

Another workstream involves a bidirectional Automated Charging Device (ACD) for V2G connection in real-world environments. This solution aims to improve access to bidirectional charging, offering a hands-free experience while maintaining the vehicle's connection to the grid.

The technology package also includes a high-efficiency traction inverter based on Gallium Nitride (GaN), equipped with AI-assisted control. According to the project's vision, this technology should help electric vehicles use energy more efficiently and deliver high performance to users at a lower cost.

Integrating these components into a single vehicle will combine efficient power electronics, onboard solar power generation, smart charging, and V2G capabilities. Nissan and its partners will use the new Nissan LEAF electric vehicle as a test platform to demonstrate the complete solution under real-world usage conditions.

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