Nissan RE-LEAF brings emergency power supply to disaster zones

Nissan has revealed a concept emergency response vehicle which it says can provide a mobile power supply in areas struck by natural disasters.

The Re-Leaf concept, based on a regular Nissan Leaf, has been created to showcase how electric vehicles can provide instant energy solutions in areas where power supplies have been interrupted.

Natural disasters are the biggest cause of power outages globally and a 2019 World Bank Report found natural shocks and climate change caused 37 per cent of outages in Europe between 2000 and 2017, and 44 per cent of outages in the US over the same period.

Typically when a natural disaster cuts power it can take between one and two days for its to be restored.

The Re-Leaf is designed to fill the gap while this happens, providing energy to power essential equipment such as jack hammers, floodlights and medical ventilators for up to several days using its 62kWh battery.

It can do this via the Re-Leaf’s bi-directional charging ability, which means it can not only “pull” power to recharge the high-capacity battery, but also “push” it back to electric devices or the energy grid.