Four electric cars used by Danville under an energy project have now become a permanent part of the city’s fleet. Fermata Energy hopes to donate the four electric vehicles – 2015 or 2016 Nissan Leafs – and chargers to Danville as part of a requirement under a two-year research-and-development grant from the Virginia Tobacco Commission. Fermata, founded by UVA engineering professor David Slutzky, received a $2 million Tobacco Commission grant in May 2014 to operate within the tobacco region’s footprint.