Nissan unveiled the Nissan EV36Zero, a £1 billion flagship Electric Vehicle (EV) Hub creating a world-first EV manufacturing ecosystem.
Centered around the record-breaking plant in Sunderland, UK, Nissan EV36Zero will supercharge the company’s drive to carbon neutrality and establish a new 360-degree solution for zero-emission motoring.
The transformational project has been launched in July with an initial £1bn investment by Nissan and its partners Envision AESC, a global player in world-leading battery technology, and Sunderland City Council. Comprised of three interconnected initiatives, Nissan EV36Zero brings together electric vehicles, renewable energy and battery production, setting a blueprint for the future of the automotive industry.
Nissan President and Chief Executive Officer, Makoto Uchida said: “This project comes as part of Nissan’s pioneering efforts to achieve carbon neutrality throughout the entire lifecycle of our products. Our comprehensive approach includes not only the development and production of EVs, but also the use of on-board batteries as energy storage and their reuse for secondary purposes.”
He then added, “Our announcement comes out of lengthy discussions held within our teams and will greatly accelerate our efforts in Europe to achieve carbon neutrality. The experience and know-how gained through the project will be shared globally, enhancing the global competitiveness of Nissan, which will continue to leverage its strengths in electrification to become a company that continues to provide value to its customers and society.”
Envision AESC, battery manufacturer for global green technology company Envision Group, will deploy integrated smart technology to monitor and optimize energy consumption, manufacturing, and maintenance at its new plant, enabling it to rapidly ramp up production and provide batteries to power up to 100,000 Nissan electric vehicles per year.
A new-generation electric crossover
As part of the announcement, Nissan will invest £1 billion (up to £423 million) in the production of a new generation of all-electric cars in the UK. It will use its crossover expertise and the global success of the Nissan LEAF to produce the next generation of the vehicle that is distinguished by its design, efficiency, and battery technology, making the transition to electric driving easier.
The UK-produced vehicle will be designed for global markets and exported to European markets normally served by Nissan’s plant in Sunderland. The new crossover will be built on the Alliance CMF-EV platform and is expected to produce up to 100,000 units.
With next-generation EV batteries
Envision AESC already owns and operates Europe’s first battery plant in Sunderland, established in 2012 for the localisation of Nissan LEAF battery production. The factory’s UK team has nine years’ expertise from supplying batteries to the Nissan LEAF and eNV200, having produced enough cells, modules and packs to power over 180,000 electric vehicles in 44 countries, meeting global benchmark levels of quality, performance, safety, reliability and cost.
Supporting this new model allocation, Envision AESC will invest £450 million to build the UK’s first gigafactory on the International Advanced Manufacturing Park (IAMP), adjacent to the Nissan plant, powered by renewable energy and pioneering next-generation battery technology.
The formal planning process is about to begin for the new gigafactory, which represents an initial 9GWh plant, with potential future-phase investment of £1.8bn by Envision AESC, generating up to 25GWh and creating 4,500 new high-value green jobs in the region by 2030, with potential on site for up to 35GWh. The new plant will increase the cost-competitiveness of EV batteries produced in the UK, including through a new Gen5 battery cell with 30% more energy density which improves range and efficiency. This commitment will power Nissan’s new vehicles, supporting the continued localisation of vehicle parts and components with advanced technology. This will make batteries cheaper and EVs more accessible to a growing number of customers in the future.
Zero Emission vehicles and Zero Emission Manufacturing
Bringing this ecosystem together, Sunderland City Council is leading a project that aims to deliver a 100% renewable electricity ‘Microgrid’ that will save 55,000 tonnes of carbon annually.
With the ability to incorporate the existing Nissan wind and solar farms, initial plans suggest there could be as many as ten solar farms created, with an anticipated 132MW generation, and with a direct connection to renewable energy from the UK grid for ‘firm’ supply to Nissan and automotive companies located on the adjacent International Advanced Manufacturing Park (IAMP). Plans will continue to be developed in close discussion with potential private sector green investors.
This first-of-its-kind project is valued at £80m and includes plans to build a 1MW battery storage system using used Nissan/Envision AESC batteries, allowing surplus energy produced during the day to be collected and used at another time, thus helping to balance demand on the grid. The value of the initial investment with additional infrastructure projects that allow the establishment of the new electric vehicle center is more than one billion pounds.
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