You’ll soon hear about an electric vehicle.
Nissan has teamed up with the Mackies of Scotland to create a very sweet concept car.
The electric vehicle pioneers and the ice-cream brand collaborated to build an all-electric van for Clean Air Day in the U.K. on June 20, th. This demonstration shows how a “Sky to Scoop” approach can eliminate carbon dependence at each stage of the “ice cream journey.”
Mackies is not new to going green. Its family-owned dairy farm is powered by renewable wind energy. However, most ice cream vans in Britain run on diesel engines that can be stopped and continue running, even when the van has been stopped.
Some U.K. cities and towns are considering banning ice cream vans. This is absurd, even for me, who cannot eat icecream. The new Nissan concept is a possible solution to the imminent doom for the ice cream van. It reduces its carbon footprint, keeps kids happy, and leaves parents with a predictable amount of money.
The concept for an ice cream van is built on Nissan’s all electric e-NV200 light-commercial vehicle. It combines an zero-emission drivetrain with second-life battery storage, renewable solar energy generation, and a zero emission drivetrain.
“Ice cream is loved all over the globe, but consumers are becoming more conscious of the environmental impact of how we make it and how they get to us,” stated Kalyana Sivagnanam (Managing Director, Nissan Motor (GB), Ltd.
“This project is a great example of Nissan’s Intelligent Mobility strategy. It uses more than a decade worth of EV experience to create cleaner solutions for powering on the move – in ways customers may not expect.
“By reducing harmful tailpipe emissions and increasing our use renewable energy, we can make this a better place for all.”
Although the van’s drivetrain is powered once more by a 40-kWh lithium-ion battery, its other components, such as a soft-serve machine and freezer drawer, are powered by Nissan Energy Roam. This is a portable powerpack that uses Lithium-ion cells from first-generation Nissan vehicles. This system provides clean power wherever you go, and makes battery-powered vehicles more sustainable.
“We’re thrilled to have worked alongside Nissan on this project because it’s the perfect compliment to our vision of becoming self sustainable in renewable energy – and eliminating carbon in that journey from ‘Skyto Scoop’,” stated Karin Hayhow (marketing director at Mackie’s of Scotland).
“At Mackie’s, we have already moved our dependence on fossil-fuels to clean renewable power. Now, we export 4.5x more energy to the nation grid than what we consume. We will continue to work towards our vision by installing a low-carbon refrigeration system. We are proud to be an ice cream manufacturer that is ‘climate-positive’.