It has been a source of annoyance to owners of the first generation Nissan Leafs. Those who had the original 24kWh battery, and who wanted to upgrade to the 30kWh battery fitted to later models, have been told by Nissan that the bigger battery was not backwards compatible.
Finally, though, some good news. A New Zealand company has been working on a go-around and believes it now has an answer.
EVs Enhanced (based in Christchurch) has recently released a ‘battery translator’ that will enable the fitting of later model 30kWh batteries to the 24kWh AZEO model.
As they describe it:
“EVs Enhanced’s HV Battery Translator …. can be easily installed to effortlessly and elegantly resolve communications problems between an earlier car and a later-type battery.
The battery translator module sits between the donor battery and recipient Leaf keeping all systems happy.
Using the entire battery pack from another vehicle ensures that the lithium battery controller is a perfect match for the cells being used so it can function as originally intended.
This Battery Translator in conjunction with our HV Battery Pairing Tool, offers a wealth of new battery exchange opportunities for Leaf owners, especially as new third party battery packs are introduced at the top end. Going forward, we will have a cascading range of battery upgrade options”.
It is worth noting that Australian delivered Leafs (being all ZEO models) cannot make use of their current battery translator. Hope is on the horizon though: EVs Enhanced are working on a translator for the ZEO model and hope to release it soon.
A further problem for Australian Leaf owners is that there are no 30kWh batteries available here! However, that should not stop an enterprising EV business from setting up to import and install the components once the ZEO translator becomes available.
Bryce Gaton is an expert on electric vehicles and contributor for The Driven and Renew Economy. He has been working in the EV sector since 2008 and is currently working as EV electrical safety trainer/supervisor for the University of Melbourne. He also provides support for the EV Transition to business, government and the public through his EV Transition consultancy EVchoice.