Yesterday�"s groundbreaking for Nissan�"s Smyrna, Tenn. battery plant allowed us to do a deep dive with Mark Perry, Nissan's director of product planning for the Nissan Leaf. The new facility will thrust Nissan and the State of Tennessee into the forefront of global manufacturing of electric cars and the lithium batteries that power them.
A Nissan technician on the production line in Smyrna, Tenn. bolts a gas tank into a Maxima. Nissan will run the Leaf on the same line, but will install battery packs instead of gas tanks�and electric motors and components, instead of engines and transmissions. (Photos: Brad Berman. All rights reserved.)
First these facts, and then what we learned compiled into a set of Qs and As:
- Annual battery pack production in Smyrna (starting in 2012): 200,000
- Annual Nissan Leaf vehicle production in Smyrna: 150,000
- Number of battery modules in a Nissan Leaf: 48
- Number of cells per module: 4
- Weight of pack: 300 kilograms (660 pounds)
- Amount of lithium in the pack: 4 grams
- Weight of the Nissan Leaf: Approx. 3,500 pounds
- Amount of DOE loan for new facility and retooling: $1.4 billion
- Anticipated number of jobs created: 1,300
The Nissan Leaf Battery Pack
What�"s the advantage of producing the batteries in Smyrna?
The battery pack is expensive to ship. Local production reduces logistics cost, protects the company from currency fluctuations, and brings jobs to the United States. The DOE loan helped make it happen quicker.
Read More... [Source: HybridCars.com]
No comments:
Post a Comment