Looking beyond mobility, Nissan is seeing its innovative electrified technologies as also a means to unlock the potential of stored energy in its vehicles to help power communities hit by disasters and other emergencies.
This has been demonstrated in real life, when Blue Switch was applied after the devastation of super typhoon Odette in December 2021. Cebu City Councilor Nestor Archival’s personal electric car Nissan Leaf—along with another Leaf loaned from Nissan Philippines (NPI)—was used to power the storm-ravaged communities in the city until the main power lines went online in March 2022. The Leaf units, at that time, may have not traveled that much, but they already contributed significantly in bringing the community from desperation to hope.
Archival—an electrical engineer, environmentalist, and vegetarian—has since returned the service Leaf with its power master (the connecting equipment enabling transfer of power from Vehicle to Home) to Nissan Gateway Cebu and NPI. Last May, Archival also returned the other V2H equipment he used to power his own house. The technology is also known as Vehicle-to-Grid or V2G and Vehicle-to-Load PowerMover (V2L).
Archival came to mind when I witnessed the livestream of NPI’s symbolic Blue Switch campaign reinforcement at the 10th Philippine Electric Vehicle Summit last Friday. The event saw NPI marking the event with Bill Luz, the chief resilience officer of the Philippine Disaster Resilience Foundation, a non-stock, non-profit organization dedicated to disaster risk reduction management and disaster resilience.
Launched earlier this year, the Blue Switch initiative was reinforced at the 10th PEVS Summit Oct. 21 through a commitment ceremony with NPI’s partners. Under the campaign, the brand aims to create key partnerships with various organizations to help address social concerns such as disaster response, climate change, responsible travel, and energy management with the use of EV technologies.
“We are taking our vision to shape a safer and more resilient future for the Philippines through the Blue Switch campaign. We hope to address the needs and enrich the lives of Filipinos by leveraging the unique capabilities of EVs for purposes beyond mobility,” said Juan Manuel Hoyos, president of NPI.
Sharing the stage with NPI executives and Luz were Department of Energy’s Energy Utilization Management Bureau Director Patrick Aquino, Electric Vehicle Association of the Philippines president Edmund Araga, eSakay Inc. COO Karl Magsuci, Gateway Group EVP Michael Goho, Pesin president and CEO Jojo Conde II, Gawad Kalinga executive director Luis Oquiñena, and MAD Travel co-founder and director Rafael Dionisio. These organizations have committed to support the Blue Switch initiative through various efforts ranging from public education, community action, and coalition-building.
NPI co-presented the 10th PEVS with the theme “United in Driving Electromobility in Support of the Electric Vehicle Industry Development Act (Evida)” Oct. 20 and 21 at the SMX Convention Center in Pasay City.
Disasters as the new normal
“Disasters are our new normal. When it will hit (again), I’m more than willing to help in whatever I can, including using my Leaf again to power communities,” Archival stressed. “One important initiative that NPI should undertake is finding a reliable source of the V2H equipment, considering that V2H is a must-have accessory for the Leaf to be able to power communities,” he observed.
Archival’s full-EV Leaf operates completely off-grid, as his solar panels at home charge the vehicle. His solar-powered two-story eco-house in Talamban, Cebu, that sits on a 7,000 sqm property, is mostly made of recycled materials. The two sets of solar panels are complemented by a 450-watt wind turbine system. The first set of 27 solar panels–-with each having a 250-watt capacity–charges the house’s battery which has a storage capacity of around 5kW. That battery, in turn, powers his refrigerator, two air-conditioners, and other home appliances. Another set of 27 solar panels with the same energy capacity is used to power his workshop and his family’s small ice-making plant.
The councilor’s satisfaction with his Leaf, therefore, goes beyond the vehicle’s capacity to provide him his mobility needs. “I’m very satisfied with my Leaf, considering that I won’t have to buy expensive gasoline.”
New Leaf for next phase of EV strategy
NPI launched the New Nissan Leaf at the 10th PEVS, as it also presented the next phase of its electrification strategy with the “Nissan Ambition 2030.”
The new Leaf brings a refreshed, modern exterior and interior design with the full suite of Nissan Intelligent Mobility features that provide advanced safety and convenience in every drive. It carries the new Nissan badge with a redesigned bigger grill, blacked-out headlamps and a new 16” alloy wheel. On the rear, the new Leaf also has a redesigned spoiler and underdiffuser.
The new Leaf features the e-Pedal, which uses the one-pedal action for more convenient driving and braking, Intelligent Forward Collision Warning with Intelligent Emergency Braking, Lane Departure Warning with Intelligent Lane Intervention, and the Intelligent Around View Monitor with Moving Object Detection, among others. A new addition to the Leaf is the Intelligent Rear View Mirror.
The Leaf is exclusively distributed by the Gateway Motors group in the Philippines, and now retails for P2,790,000. It’s available in the following Nissan dealerships: Mantrade; Global City; Manila Bay; Otis; Bacoor; Palawan; Abad Santos; Cebu North; Matina, and; Tagum.
