MAR 24

Although we hope to see a day in the not-too-distant future when all major car companies are riding the electric car bandwagon, right now there are only a few that are brave enough to really take the plunge. Chevy is coming out with the Volt, of course, and Toyota has something in the works, but Nissan is leading the pack in terms of ZEVs.

A note on the lingo: ZEV stands for Zero Emission Vehicle (it’s not the name of a car), as opposed to just EV which stands for Electric Vehicle. The Volt will be an EV, meaning that it will run on an electric motor. But, since it will contain a gas engine to kick in should the electric motor run out of juice, it does not qualify as a ZEV, which is entirely electric.

Nissan has a prototype 5-seater ZEV that will be ready for sale in 2010. Don’t get too excited, though – you aren’t going to get one. At first, Nissan’s car will only be available to be purchased in fleets. By about 2012, though, they will be sold to the mass market. And Nissan promises they will be cheap. I’m not going to hold my breath, since the Volt was also supposed to be “cheap”, and now it looks like it will cost over $40k. But if Nissan’s promise comes true, their ZEV will be cost competitive with cars like the Honda Civic. And that’s before the $7,500 tax incentive being offered as part of the stimulus bill. That means it could cost you less than $20k.

The prototype consists of ZEV guts housed inside the body of a Nissan Cube, with the battery stored under the floor of the car to make the interior all the more roomy. Nissan is driving the car along the California coast to promote the technology. Yesterday, it made its first stop in San Diego, to celebrate Nissan’s new partnership with San Diego Gas & Electric, the region’s largest power utility. SDG&E has committed to purchase a fleet of 100 vehicles, but their commitment to the technology goes further.

The two companies are forming a partnership to study and develop the technology and infrastructure needed to make a charging network work. They will install charging stations in public places and see how well they serve customers’ needs. They will also be experimenting with new technologies, such as high-voltage charging stations that will supposedly be capable of charging a ZEV in 26 minutes (as opposed to hours and hours), and safety devices to ensure that the high-voltage electricity doesn’t cause any unwanted accidents.

Some suggest that partnerships like these could threaten startups like Coulomb Technologies, which is developing its own brand of charging station, and Better Place, which hopes to one day sell/deploy both charging infrastructure and the cars as well. In fact, Nissan itself is supposed to provide the vehicles for Better Place. So why is Nissan developing what could be seen as a competing technology with a different company?

Of course, it's possible that Better Place is in on the collaboration as well. Perhaps information and ideas will be shared between all three companies. On the other hand, maybe not. After all, Nissan is putting a lot into their ZEV program, and they want to make sure these cars sell. Even if they think Better Place has a brilliant idea, it never makes sense to put all your eggs in one basket. By getting involved in multiple projects, Nissan can learn more about what needs to happen to ensure that their ZEVs sell once they hit the mass market.

So maybe this does mean that large car makers and utilities are going to squeeze out the startups and take over the electric vehicle and infrastructure market. But if that means that the world becomes a place where large corporations are actively converting our cars from gasoline to electric...

... I'd say "Sounds like a better place to me."

Via Sempra press release
Image via ABG

Comments (14)

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written by Bill Melcher, March 24, 2009

I think the term ZEV is a little misleading. Emissions still take place at the power plant to produce the electricty that runs the vehicle. Unless all of the power is coming from solar, wind, etc... then it isn't truly ZEV, in my opinion.

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written by Ken Heslip, March 24, 2009

Following that logic, the emissions to create the vehicle should be taken into account too. But I think the term is pretty accurate in that the actual vehicle doesn't emit fumes in use. And it sounds cool too....ZEEEEV.
Finally, the emissions from one or two power plant are far lower than many little power plants (cars) on the road.

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written by Jeff, March 24, 2009

Bill, I'm with you all the way. This is another perfect example of how the media warps our minds. This is far from a "Zero Emissions Vehicle". And Ken, you are probably right about the emissions issue, except that until we start producing more clean energy power plants are no better than cars.

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written by Luis, March 24, 2009

Every so often a report like this one comes up, there's always these people who point to the obvious: "that's not a ZEV, because of the power generation emissions". Of course it's not! But the beginning of the road to the ZE world starts by replacing the smaller emitters (cars), scaling up to the largest ones (power plants), as the technology required also scales with size. While car makers are developing ZEV's, the rest of the community is researching and developing ZE power generation methods, such as fussion, solar, etc.

So instead of looking at the empty half of the cup and complaining about it, celebrate the increasing full half!

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written by Bill Melcher, March 25, 2009

I wasn't complaining... I just think it's a little early to claim something to be zero emission. That's like saying my house is zero emission because all of the electricity comes from the power plant.

I do think it's a big step. But, it's also a big claim saying it's zero emission. And it's going to confuse a lot of people who don't keep up with this tech.

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Truth in advertising
written by Falluck McHadj, March 25, 2009

We should all contact our local congressmen to complain about the abuse of the term Zero Emissions in marketing advertising. These car companies must not be allowed to get away with abuse of the truth.

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written by Bob Wallace, March 25, 2009

The car is zero emissions.

The electricity source is not zero emission. But we are in the process of cleaning up the source.

We greatly increased the amount of electricity that we get from wind and solar last year.

We seem to be in the process of moving away from coal. New plant permits are being denied, brakes are being put on new mountain top removal and the EPA has announced that it will regulate CO2.

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written by Brak, March 25, 2009

Because of the higher efficiency of electric motors compared to internal combustion engines, an electric car will result in lower CO2 emissions than a comparable standard car, even if 100% of the electricity comes from coal.

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written by Martin J. Olner, March 25, 2009

I think youve got the Lingo wrong (or rather teminology) - EV - Electric vehicle - battery to power motor for example. ZEV - Zero emission - eg fuel cell (Fuel is hydrogen and oxygen) which then converts this to electricity to direct drive the vehicle. Another example of a ZEV would be a kinetic vehicle using a flywheel for power (some buses use this system). Zero emission, because the vehicle puts out no emissions - granted emissions are currently needed at the power plant but in the rose tinited world we will all have wind solar and fusion power thus eleminating the infrastructure pollution...

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written by Jim, March 25, 2009

For me this car would be a Zero Emission vehicle. I do have solar panels on my roof and produce enough power for all my needs and to charge an electric car. So I guess it all depends on where people get their electricity source.

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Nissan's ZEV
written by Nick, March 26, 2009

We are excited about Nissan's bold move. It's not only good they are coming out with a pure electric car but also competitively priced, which is needed to make them widely popular.

As far as ZEV, let's not get bogged down. If we push the theory too far we find that we pollute since we breath out CO2 in the air. The car doesn't pollute, and in some countries where electric is clean, it will pollute close to nothing. If the obvious offset of no gas pipe to utility central isn't enough for some, get solar panels and wind turbines for a true ZEV environment. It is being done. Check out PlugInAmerica.org.

Nick
Electricnick.com

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Nissan electric
written by stuart wilkie, April 23, 2009

Nissan are going down an intermediate route using an existing body to get something out there quickly to fill the gap and catch up with other manufacturers. That is ok in short-term, but fresh models will take several years, designed from the electric wheels up to ach the market. Retro-fit electric wheels could give an answer to the millions of exisitng vehicles. Policy changes on shared/multiple person vehicle use would make a quicker impact. Consider this for a moment - you can only go into London or Manchester if you have at least two people in the car. Firms insist that employees are incentivised to travel in together in tow and threes if possible. Emails from firms instead of post a possibility? More incentives to work from home. Safer two seater motorbikes (electric)to save on parking, congestion and get 2 people from A to B. More cycle paths made for Summer use. Open all disused rail lines for electric pushbike use and lay payhs for cycle routes, canal pathways upgraded etc. There are ways forward that do not necessarily need technology

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ZEV NOT A ZEV? WHO CARES IT'S STILL BETTER THAN AN ICE
written by Nick Miller, June 24, 2009

Mr. Melcher and friends,

Yes electric plants create emmissions... so do REFINERIES, FUEL DISTRIBUTION TRUCKS, OIL TANKERS like the Exxon Valdez, GAS STATIONS, OIL CHANGE SHOPS, OIL DERRECKS, etc. What does all that do to the ICE MPG rating???

Oh and let's also not forget the blood shed by our young men and women to protect oil production in the middle east. I'm active duty military from Texas, proud to serve, but lets get real.

Nissan calling an electric vehicle a ZEV makes MUCH MORE SENSE than VolksWagon using the term "Clean Diesel".

Although I appreciate the clarification on the term ZEV, it adds nothing to the progress being made towards a cleaner earth for me and my children.

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Let's look at the improvement first
written by Sébastien, July 21, 2009

I'm deeply interested in electric cars as a way to move forward, improving on the present situation. It is true that producing electricity almost always means emissions (although I live in the province of Quebec in Canada where virtually all electricity is produced from wind and hydro).

Emissions will always be smaller in a large electric plant than in a small moving vehicule, especially where tough regulations make it mendatory to reduce emissions to a minimum.

Breathing also produces CO2 but I think I'll continue breathing anyhow.

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