The Future is Electric

Earlier this year, Nissan announced its fully-connected vision of the transport of tomorrow. Teaming up with architects Foster + Partners, the car manufacturers suggested that the fuel stations of the future could in fact be inside the cars themselves.

Concluding a 12-month partnership with the renowned architect firm, Nissan have released a conceptual video offering a preview of what is to come in terms of ‘Intelligent Mobility’. Charged by the sun, wind and oceans, the cars of the future could allow people to store and distribute renewable energy, shifting the balance away from our current reliance on fossil fuels. In this vision, cities have become smarter, with cars, houses, streets and even the grid all connected and in sync. Wireless charging and Nissan’s universal connectivity mean that vehicles could autonomously charge themselves while you sleep, engaging their ‘Piloted Drive’ technology to re-park and allow other vehicles on the street to charge using the same bay. With clean, renewable energy so widely spread, houses and the grid could even draw energy straight from your car, powering your home in the morning.

With the ever-increasing need for sustainable energy and refuelling networks, alternative sources such as electric power are becoming more accessible. It is predicted that by 2050, almost all global energy needs will be able to be met with renewable energy sources.

Following in the push towards sustainability, Nissan suggests that recycled batteries from their electric LEAF vehicles could even be turned into smart home storage units. The LEAF is the first mass-market, purely electric vehicle to have been launched globally, and is currently being trialled in part of an innovative vehicle-to-grid system in Europe. When coupled with recent advances in battery technology, this will allow drivers to operate as individual ‘energy hubs’, that can store, use, or return clean energy to the grid.

Paul Willcox, Chairman of Nissan Europe, said

“Technology holds many of the answers for the challenges we face in our cities today. However, the true power comes when those technologies are integrated with each other and the world around us. We’ve been at the forefront of zero emission technology since 2010, but our vision does not stop there – we believe that the future of transportation is reliant on both infrastructure and the environment. We’re looking for real, workable solutions that go beyond the product.”

Watch the video below to see Nissan's vision for the 'Fuel Station of the Future'.