Environmental Leader

Nissan and San Diego Gas & Electric are partnering toward an electric vehicle charging network. The network is touted as a zero-emission mobility model.

In 2010, Nissan will start selling electric vehicles in the United States, with global production slated for 2012, according to a press release. Nissan’s EV Prototype is powered by Nissan’s lithium-ion battery pack and electric motor.

Meanwhile, in New Zealand, an idea has been floated to convert up to 60 percent of the nation’s automobile fleet to electric vehicles, which would be be charged with wind power.

If about 2.5 million of New Zealand’s 4 million vehicles were electric, they could run off 3,000 MW of wind generation, which is roughly three times the amount of wind power capacity already in place or under construction in New Zealand, according to the New Zealand Herald.

Mitsubishi and Meridian are partnering to bring an electric vehicle to New Zealand.

President Obama’s stimulus package has up to $2.4 billion for development of electric vehicles and related systems.

IBM has joined the EDISON research consortium, a Denmark-based collaborative aimed at developing an intelligent infrastructure for large-scale adoption of electric vehicles powered by sustainable energy. EDISON stands for Electric Vehicles in a Distributed and Integrated Market using Sustainable Energy and Open Networks.