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Renault-Nissan plan four EU battery sites

By Matt Brogan |

The Renault-Nissan alliance plans to build up to four factories in Europe over the coming years to produce lithium-ion batteries for its upcoming electric vehicle range.

Renault-Nissan believe localising battery production will be pivotal in driving European interest in the brand’s EVs which are due to go on sale across the EU from early 2011.

Last month Nissan opened its first battery plant in Japan and announced it would start producing batteries in the US from next year.

Nissan executives say CEO Carlos Ghosn will unveil the company’s first purpose-built electric vehicle in early August in Tokyo.

Nissan will launch this new electric vehicle in 2011 in markets such as Portugal, Denmark, Israel, the United States and Japan. The car’s global launch will follow in 2012.

Renault plans to begin selling electric vehicles in 2011, although its initial efforts will focus on zero-emission versions of a mid-sized sedan and light commercial vehicle originally designed for internal combustion engines.

Renault’s first all-new electric vehicles are expected to go on the market in late-2011 and 2012.


 
  • Frenchie

    Where is all the lithium coming from? Time to start exploring Australia for this element, we might fall over a large deposit!

  • lazybones

    The lithium is the cheap bit costing about $5USD per kilo. Its the other part of the battery that cost the money, the cobalt thinging stuff.

    But certainly now would be a good time to setup a local battery manufacturing + recycling plant.

  • Vid_Ghost

    Love the look of the white anime concept car in that pick

    Now why they dont make cars look like that for sale in showrooms! … the Tida the micra .. both boring dated designs.

    Hope thats what nissans hybrid car will look like

  • Yanzo

    omg! that looks so niiice

  • Frenchie

    I thought in the world of electric cars that lithium metal phosphate is used instead of cobolt, as cobolt is the stuff that leads to batteries exploding.

    Not having a go at you lazybones as regarding lithiium-ion batteries it is very complex, hence why it is taking along time to bring these batteries to consumers.

  • Shak

    Frenchie they did use cobalt for a long time but Toyota have begun to pioneer the next gen lithuim ion tech. Nissan have improved it and started to manufacture test models.

  • lazybones

    No Lithium is highly combustable on its own, you just need to get it hot enough.

    The advantage of Lithium battery technology is the amount of options available to you depending on the kind of performance / Environment / Cost for which the technology is to be used.

    The best choice for an EV would be Lithium Titanate, due to its super quick charge times. The makers of the Lightning GT are clamining a 10 minute charge will take the car about 200kms.

    I think you meant to say Lithium Iron Phosphate, which is also a good quick charging battery. Alot cheaper than Titanate.

  • Frenchie

    Using Titanate will make charging alot quicker, the battery alot safer, the battery last alot longer (20 years claimed) and more stable in range of temperatures. It is also one of the safest of the “Lithium-ion” batteries.
    However the battery compacity is about half of a Lithium-ion, so they must use alot of these batteries to get a range of 200km.

  • lazybones

    Yes Frenchie, but they are more expensive than lith-ion.

    “so they must use alot of these batteries to get a range of 200km.”

    Apparently no, because Lith-ion batteries currently in used are not supposed to be fully charged or fully discharged. You are supposed to keep the charge level above 30% and below 80% (approx) to prelong the battery life. So your basically carrying dead battery weight. Titanate can be fully charged and discharged down to zero (not that you’d try that!). This means in effect it can do the same thing with less mass.

    To add to that the range of the GT is 200Miles which is 320kms (Sorry I was lacking coffee that morning). Not to mention its the worlds sexiest EV and gives hope that we will still have exotic super cars in the future…

    http://www.lightningcarcompany.co.uk/gallery.php

  • Wheelnut®™

    Shouldn’t Renault-Nissan plan on designing some decent looking cars first?

    Inorder to make people actually want to or at least consider buying one

  • Chyeah

    Frenchie we already have a large amount of it in Australia. They are just setting up a new lithium mine in the south of WA near Ravensthorpe, where the old BHP mine recently packed up shop early.