Nissan To Double EV Battery Capacity by 2015Nissan To Double EV Battery Capacity by 2015

Nissan continues to make headlines on a regular basis.  The much talked about Leaf EV is of course the center of attraction for the company.  Numerous articles have popped up recently discussing every aspect of the vehicle.
A recent article on this site discussed the possibility of leasing the battery for the Leaf EV and comments ranged from people accepting of the idea to those downright outraged that Nissan would force buyers of the Leaf to lease a major component that is vital to the vehicles operation.
Now a new report is out they may indeed change your mind abut leasing your Leaf battery.  According to the Nikkei newspaper in Japan, Nissan is currently developing a battery with twice the storage capacity of its current Leaf battery.  Nissan hopes to have the batteries in its EV by 2015.  The report states that the new battery has a range of 186 miles, close to twice that of the current Leaf battery.
You may be waiting for a catch such as this new battery will cost twice as much, but that is not the case.  According to the report, the new battery with nearly twice the output will cost the same amount as the current Leaf battery.   The new battery makeup will consist of lithium nickel manganese cobalt oxide cathode battery technology, called NMC for short.
Nissan intends to focus on battery production as well as EV production.  The company has stated that batteries will be a primary focus of the company for the future and this potential breakthrough battery is just the beginning.
Now back to leasing the battery.  For early adopters who purchase a Leaf in the next year or two with a standard li-ion battery, the possibility exists that these buyers will be able to lease the upgraded battery come 2015.  This allows Leaf buyers to upgrade their vehicles as new technology emerges allowing the Leaf to grow with every technological advance in batteries.  Early adopters need not be stuck with outdated technology and inferior batteries.  Certainly an intriguing idea.
Source: Nikkei Newspaper Japan  (login required)

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