In a joint effort to bolster the Blue Switch program, Nissan Philippines and the Philippine Disaster Resilience Foundation (PDRF) held a ceremonial signing of an agreement on March 17 to announce their partnership. The partnership demonstrates the capabilities of the Nissan Leaf EV as an efficient yet sustainable aid for disaster response to natural calamities and gives an avenue for Nissan Philippines and PDRF to exchange knowledge and information to explore better ways of addressing disasters.
In attendance during the ceremonial event were Nissan Philippines president Juan Manuel Hoyos and PDRF’s president Rene Meily, chief resilience officer Guillermo Luz, and executive director Veronica Gabaldon.
PDRF is an alliance of businesses dedicated to building a strong, resilient, and disaster-ready Philippines. It is the country’s major private sector coordinator for disaster management.
“We are proud to announce the partnership between Nissan Philippines and PDRF. This partnership is the next step in our strategy towards a more sustainable and resilient future for the country,” Hoyos declared.
Through this partnership, the Leaf and its V2X bi-directional charging capabilities can supply electricity to affected communities as well as emergency responders during situations of crisis due to natural calamities.
V2X is the capability of Nissan’s EVs that includes the powering of homes vehicle-to-home (V2H), vehicle-to-building (V2B), and vehicle-to-grid (V2G) charging. V2X allows the EV’s battery to transfer power to other sources.
Hoyos added, “We are very excited to see how the Leaf can assist PDRF in providing innovative and sustainable solutions to minimize and recover from disasters.”
At the event, key executives from PDRF toured Hoyos around their operations center, while representatives from Nissan Philippines demonstrated the Leaf, showcased its V2X capabilities and conducted test drives. (Story and photos courtesy of Nissan Philippines)