The Barometer Online

Issue date: 4/9/09 Section: News

Media Credit: Jeff Wick The Nissan EV-02 fully electric test car was on display near Kelly Engineering Center on Wednesday. The car was put on display by Nissan representatives and Lance Atkins, Senior Project Engineer off the electric fuel cell vehicle part of the Nissan Technical Center of North America. A full production version of the car is expected to come out in 18 months.

Nissan showcased the EV-02 to the public, press and the OSU administration outside of the Kelley Engineering Center Wednesday afternoon. The EV-02 is one of two prototype battery electric vehicles that Nissan-Renault has developed during the past two years.

Nissan officials met with Gov. Kulongoski and Sen. Wyden on Tuesday to discuss the possibility of launching the EV-02 technology in Oregon. Kulongoski is hopeful that such a move will help stimulate the economy, provide jobs and move toward sustainable vehicles.

According to Tracy Woodard, Nissan's director of government affairs, this move to zero-emission vehicles is the culmination of 17 years of development in lithium ion technology.

"We are the first car manufacturing company to put Li-ion batteries into a production car."

The EV-02 uses an undisclosed number of flat, laminated Li-ion pouches that employ new internal architecture which, according to Mark Perry, director of product planning, greatly increases the energy density of the battery pack.

This greater energy storage per volume and weight increases the range of the vehicle while decreasing the weight of the battery pack, a problem that has greatly inhibited the development of BEVs.

A regenerative braking system similar to the system used in other electric/hybrid vehicles like the Prius and Tesla also helps to increase this range. Nissan claims that the EV-02 has a range of 100 miles and will have performance nearly equal to that of its family sedans.

A common controversy surrounding BEVs is the long recharge times that are necessary to prevent overcharging and internal shorts. On a standard 110-volt supply, the EV-02 will recharge in around 10 hours. It will charge in four hours on a 220-volt supply and will charge to 80 percent in an impressive 26 minutes with a special 480-volt charging system.

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