[Auto] Nissan Re-Leaf: the electric car with an emergency power bank.

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The earthquake measured nine on the Richter Scale and immediately caused damage to properties in the region, but the worst was yet to come. The violent shift in the ocean floor at the quake’s epicentre triggered a tsunami which, upon striking the coastline, caused unimaginable destruction.

Compounding the disaster was the damage to three reactors at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant. The initial emergency shutdown procedures jumped into action after the earthquake, and worked successfully. However, the resulting surge of water, with waves over 50ft high, overwhelmed the plant’s sea defences, knocking out the back-up generators that cooled the reactors. The resulting thermal runaway sent the plant into meltdown.

In the initial days of the disaster, over a million buildings were damaged or destroyed, adding to the countless number of people displaced from their homes by the meltdown. This sequence of tragic events resulted in 15,899 deaths, and a further 2,500 people are still missing to this day.

With local infrastructure decimated, more than 4.8 million homes were left without electricity for several days, and those caught up in the disaster weren’t able to communicate directly with the outside world.

While aid poured in from all over the globe, Nissan made a unique contribution to the relief effort. The second generation of its all-electric Leaf, which went on sale just three months before the disaster, provided a vital lifeline: power. The cars’ batteries operated as temporary energy sources for locals with none, and for rescue teams working hard to provide relief.

 

 

A total of 66 Leafs were drafted into the worst-hit areas, helping aid workers, providing light that allowed them to perform search and rescue operations through the night, and keeping mobile phones charged and other communications equipment running.

Seeing how invaluable those cars could be, Nissan has further explored the potential of the electric future with this: the Re-Leaf. The name may be a play on words for a serious purpose, but the benefits of its applications in the real world could be profound.

Officially just a concept for now, the Re-Leaf is part electric car, part mobile disaster operation centre, and its greatest trick comes with the Leaf’s ability to support bi-directional charging. For the normal car, this means that owners can plug the Leaf into their home and draw energy from the on-board battery when grid electricity is expensive. When the car needs topping up, it can be charged at night when energy is cheaper.