article thumbnail

What the Nissan Leaf Has Taught Us About Natural Disaster Recovery

Blink Charging

Nissan, the Japanese-based company, saw an opportunity to utilize their fully electric model Leaf to assist in these disasters. The Leaf models were used as portable power stations , with enough juice to power the average Japanese home for four days, power 6,200 smartphones, or run 100 elevator round trips in a 48-story building. .

Nissan 52
article thumbnail

False Starts: The Story of Vehicle-to-Grid Power

Cars That Think

In 2001, a team of engineers at a then-obscure R&D company called AC Propulsion quietly began a groundbreaking experiment. The company’s president, Tom Gage , dubbed the system “vehicle to grid” or V2G. They wanted to see whether an electric vehicle could feed electricity back to the grid. Electric Car tzero 0-60 3.6

Grid 138
article thumbnail

The trials of public charging, part 2 (of many to come)

Plugs and Cars

Parking in these Coulomb charge stations is restricted to city-owned vehicles and Car Share companies under threat of towing. Problem #2: It needs to be noted (especially by new drivers) that the electrons don't just flow from many of these public J-plugs when you plug into the car as they do for the previous generation - EV1s and RAV4 EVs.

article thumbnail

Greentech Media | ECOtality CEO: Fast Charging and Why Battery Swapping Is Doomed

Tony Karrer Delicious EVdriven

We were successful with this before – remember the EV1?) You will be able to charge your car at home at night in three to eight hours, but never be in fear of “running out of juice” because a fast-charge opportunity will be available right around the corner at Starbucks, Safeway, Wal-Mart or your local shopping mall.

article thumbnail

The Reality of Fast Charging for Electric Vehicles

Tony Karrer Delicious EVdriven

When GM installed chargers for the EV1 they used a 50amp 220V circuit that could pump over 6KW into the batteries. You could leave Los Angeles and drive to Baker, stop and have a meal while the car recharges, and have plenty of juice to make it to your hotel in Vegas. Some industrial sites are even set up with 440V 3 phase service.

article thumbnail

GM Says Chevrolet Volt Won't 'Pay the Rent' | Autopia from Wired.com

Tony Karrer Delicious EVdriven

But GM says it wont get the money until the Obama administration is satisfied the company is financially viable. Posted by: AJ | Apr 13, 2009 3:24:59 PM Dont buy the hype, version 1 was the EV1 which GM released in 1996. Gotta love a company that blows nearly 2 billion a year on PR and advertising! General Motors has sought $10.3

Volt 41