Nissan plans electric and fuel cell double eco whammy

[Yeo]

Source: 4car

Nissan is planning to launch a production fuel cell car and an electric vehicle early in the next decade - and until then will be making its petrol and diesel engines ever-cleaner.

But that will not be enough to ensure that Nissan will meet the EU target for reducing carbon dioxide emissions from its range to an average of 130 g/km by 2012. 'This is too difficult; a very, very high level,' said Nissan head of technology Mitsuhiko Yama****a. 'We will ultimately have to meet this, but 2012 is too aggressive. The timing is too tight.'

He was speaking in London this week at the launch of Nissan's Green Programme 2010, a multi-faceted attempt to reduce the company's environmental impact, and that of its vehicles. In collaboration with partner Renault, Nissan aims to tackle the issue on many fronts. It will clean up its act at its manufacturing plants, reducing their emissions by an average of 7% and achieving 100% recycling of resources. It is also working on hybrids, electric vehicles, fuel cells, biofuel-compatible vehicles and improvements to existing internal combustion engines.

Although Nissan currently offers its Altima hybrid in the US, with powertrain technology sourced from Toyota, its own in-house hybrid will not come until 2010. This Europe-bound model will probably be an SUV, because a hybrid small car would be prohibitively expensive, and customers in Europe are still reluctant to pay for the technology. It's also likely to be sold under the Infiniti brand name.

US trials of the Hypermini electric city car have come to an end, but development and testing has continued in Japan, a market thought to be better suited to such a vehicle. Fleet trials of an all-new product are scheduled for 2010, with consumer sales a little later; intriguingly, Nissan hints that this could be influenced by the Pivo concept car seen at the 2005 Tokyo Motor Show, with its 360-degree swivelling cockpit.

Before all that, though, come fuel-saving and emissions-reducing measures which can be 'bolted on' to existing engines. Nissan reckons it can bring carbon dioxide output from its petrol engines to the same level as equivalent diesels by 2010. Improved turbo technology means that smaller, lighter engines can be boosted to replace larger, thirstier units - as in the 1.2-litre 16-valve turbo unit soon to be used in the Renault Clio and Modus, which will also feature in the Micra, Note and other small Nissans. Stop-start systems that shut the engine down when idling will help too.

Smaller engines will get a combination of direct injection and turbocharging. Six- and eight-cylinder engines will get variable valve timing and lift, as well as direct fuel injection. Variable valve timing and lift is a combination said to reduce emissions by 10% as it gives more efficient airflow through each cylinder, better throttle response at low revs, greater torque at low and high revs, and reduced emissions throughout the rev range. Hydrocarbon emissions are also reduced at low and medium revs, and from start-up. This will appear first in the Infiniti G37 coupe.

A 'three-litre' programme is also underway: a petrol-engined car which will drink just three litres of fuel per 100km (equivalent to 94.2mpg). This will be intended primarily for an all-new city car, though its fuel-saving technology will also be applied to other Nissans.

Ongoing projects include CVT gearboxes and a new clutchless automated manual transmission - both more fuel-efficient than traditional automatics - and improving four-wheel drive systems to give similar levels of fuel efficiency to two-wheel-drive powertrains. 'Consumers like SUVs because they are convenient and suit their lifestyle,' said Yama****a, 'so our challenge is to improve SUV economy and emissions. We need to keep improving this type of vehicle.'

But perhaps Nissan's most intriguing proposition is its experiments in car-to-car-communications, and improving driver behaviour. Expect 'eco-meters' in most new Nissans within two years, displaying data on average MPG, and indicators to suggest the most appropriate gear for optimum economy. The company already offers driver training courses in fuel-saving techniques in Japan, and they could come to Europe.

Further into the future comes advanced telecommunications to help drivers avoid congestion. Nissan is experimenting with electronic transponders that synchronise traffic lights for optimum traffic flow, for example. As Yama****a points out, all the advanced engine technology in the world is of little use when you're stuck in traffic.
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