GE and Nissan have signed a two-year research deal to speed up the development of a smart-charging infrastructure in a bid to fuel mass-market adoption of electric cars.
The infrastructure company and car manufacturer have identified two focus areas for their research. The first is how to integrate electric vehicles with homes and buildings. The second looks at electric vehicle charging dynamics and the future impact on the grid when an increasing number of electric cars take to the road.
“As the US and [the] world move towards electric vehicles, the automotive sector is forming new industry connections that extend well beyond the traditional OEM [original equipment manufacturer] space,” GE Global Research senior vice president Mark Little said.
Nissan Americas senior vice president of research and development, Carla Bailo, said the research partnership aims to reinforce the company’s commitment to bring zero emission mobility to the mass market.
The research and development (R&D) agreement will connect the two major players in infrastructure and automotive engineering. Currently, 25 per cent of world’s electricity is generated or distributed by GE equipment, and the company will bring considerable expertise to the challenge of integrating millions of electric cars onto the grid.
GE’s work will be conducted primarily at its global research operations in Niskayuna, New York. From this base, the latest electric transportation research and smart grid technology will facilitate research programs between the two companies.
Nissan Technical Center, North America, located in Farmington Hills, Michigan, will lead the automaker’s efforts, including integration of vehicle-to-home charging technology, with support from the Nissan Advanced Technology Center in Japan.
Image: electric car plug-port