ENECHANGE Ltd. (Head Office: Chuo-ku, Tokyo; CEO: Tomoya Maruoka), in collaboration with D-Sharing Co., Ltd (D-Sharing) and Cyber Creative Institute Co., Ltd. (Cyber Soken), announces “hourly energy matching” demonstration experiment. In this experiment, surplus electricity generated from renewable energy sources during daytime hours will be used for the simultaneous charging of electric vehicles (EVs).

This experiment will be conducted alongside the “Deco-Katsu” campaign, a new national initiative aimed at realizing a decarbonized society. The concept of hourly energy matching will be applied in this demonstration, where surplus electricity from renewable energy generated during the day is used for charging EVs.

ENECHANGE will promote the use of 24/7 Carbon Free Electricity through initiatives such as the eValue Platform, an environmental value management SaaS service for power companies, which reduces the operational workload by centrally managing tasks for renewable energy supply.

Daytime charging of EVs, using surplus renewable electricity for EVs

To achieve carbon neutrality in 2050, the spread of renewable energy and flexible adjustment of electricity demand through demand response are important. Renewable energy does not produce CO2, but its generation is affected by weather and seasons, making it difficult to match supply to demand.
As renewable energy resources have grown, solar power generation has increased to the point that during sunny days the amount of electricity generated can exceed consumption, and transmission and distribution companies must curtail renewable energy by asking generators in their jurisdiction to curb their output. In the future, measures to effectively use renewable energy are expected to include shifting the hours of use of energy-intensive equipment to daytime, selling electricity to energy companies, storing electricity and using it for charging EVs.

Daytime charging of EVs is an initiative to encourage EVs to be recharged during daytime hours, when the ratio of renewable energy is relatively high, instead of nighttime charging. By shifting this charging behaviour, EV charging maximizes the environmental benefits of the EV transition by contributing to the decarbonization of the energy grid and improving the stability of supply.

2024 EV Zero Carbon Drive Demonstration Campaign

This experiment applies the concept of hourly matching, in which surplus renewable energy generated during daytime hours is used to charge EVs.^*1 We will encourage the 100 participants registered in the “EneChange EV Supporters“^*2 scheme operated by our company to charge their EVs at our designated times during the demonstration period, and we will collect and analyze^*3 the charging data records obtained from the experiment to explore future methods for reducing CO2 emissions.

We believe that this demonstration project is significant not only for the development of services that promote a decarbonized society using EVs, but also for the further spread of EVs and EV charging infrastructure and the realization of Green Transformation (GX), including the development of new electricity tariff proposals and behavior change DR and other services.

*1. EV charging and solar power generation are not carried out on the same premises; however, by using data from the smart meters of solar panel owners in the service areas of Tokyo Electric Power, Chubu Electric Power, and Kansai Electric Power, which are managed by the Cyber Institute, solar power generated in the same grid is used for EV charging.
*2. A user-participation program run by ENECHANGE to promote the creation of a safe EV charging infrastructure environment. For more information (https://ev-charge-enechange.jp/for_drivers/ev-supporters/)
*3. Records from charging ports will be analyzed by ENECHANGE. When using the data, information that can identify individuals will be anonymized before analysis. The EV Zero Carbon Drive Demonstration Campaign is part of a demonstration program aimed at realizing the Zero Carbon Drive proposed by the Ministry of the Environment.

Campaign overview

Campaign Name	EV Zero Carbon Drive Demonstration Campaign
Participants	Registered members of the ENECHANGE EV Supporters program
Method of recruitment	Apply via the special campaign website (https://enechange.co.jp/zerocarbon-drive-2024/)
Recruitment period for participants	September 2, 2024 – September 20, 2024
Number of recruits	100 persons
Demonstration period	October 1, 2024 – November 10, 2024

2023 EV Zero Carbon Drive Demonstration Campaign

Summary

The EV Zero Carbon Drive Demonstration Campaign in 2023^*4 was conducted jointly by ENECHANGE, D-Sharing, and Cyber Souken as part of a demonstration program aimed at realizing the Zero Carbon Drive proposed by the Ministry of the Environment. The campaign was carried out over a three-week period from Wednesday, November 1, 2023, to Wednesday, November 22, 2023, targeting approximately 700 app users who use EV Charging ENECHANGE charging ports. Participants received an email sent by ENECHANGE, used the ‘EV Charging ENECHANGE’ app to charge their vehicles during the designated time period, and collected and analyzed the charging data obtained from the experiment to calculate the amount of CO2 reduction.

*4. September 28, 2023, ENECHANGE, D-Sharing Co., Ltd, and Cyber Creative Institute to conduct a large-scale social experiment to realize Zero Carbon Drive proposed by Ministry of the Environment (https://enechange.co.jp/news/press/evzerocarbondrive/)

Campaign Overview
・Campaign name: EV Zero Carbon Drive Demonstration Campaign
・How to apply: Via the special campaign website (https://enechange.co.jp/zerocarbon-drive/)
・Demonstration period: 1 November – 22 November, 2023
・Number of participants: 717 users

Results for 2023 can be found at here (https://enechange.co.jp/news/topics/2023-evzerocarbondrive)

Related press releases

June 7, 2024, Ministry of the Environment press release: “Results of the Ministry of the Environment’s Nudge Project – Electricity consumption daytime shift demonstration (peak shaving and peak shifting and CO2 reduction through raising and lowering DR)” (https://www.env.go.jp/press/press_03240.html)

ENECHANGE Ltd.

ENECHANGE is an energy technology company that promotes a net zero society through digital technology with the mission of Changing Energy For A Better World. We offer services based on data utilization in the 4Ds of Energy: Deregulation, Digitalization, Decarbonization, and Decentralization. Our company’s roots come from an energy data lab at the University of Cambridge, UK, a country where liberalization is mature. ENECHANGE has a UK subsidiary, ENECHANGE Innovation Limited, as well as a global network and analytical technology for energy data.

URL: https://enechange.co.jp/en/

■ For inquiries
ENECHANGE Ltd.
pr@enechange.co.jp