Mitsubishi Corporation, in collaboration with Mitsubishi Motors Corporation (hereinafter, “Mitsubishi Motors”), MC Retail Energy Co., Ltd. (hereinafter, “MC Retail Energy”) and Kaluza Ltd. (hereinafter, “Kaluza”) has launched Japan's first demonstration project for commercializing a smart charging service utilizing electric vehicle (hereinafter, “EV”) connected technologies. This smart charging service is targeted at users of Mitsubishi Motors' Outlander (PHEV model), and automatically charges the vehicle during times when electricity market prices are low, etc., and optimizes charging control.
“We believe that EV owners have many opportunities to charge their vehicles at home. An EV owner using this service installs an app on his or her smartphone and simply specifies the time by which the vehicle should be charged; the charging control platform provided by Kaluza will then remotely control the EV through MMC's connected system to save on charging costs by charging the vehicle at times when electricity is cheaper," said Kota Nakano, Deputy General Manager of the Power Service Department(Utility Retail Division, Power Solution Group), who is involved in the demonstration.

Mitsubishi Corporation invested in UK electricity retailer group OVO Group in 2019 with the aim of reducing CO₂ emissions and lowering energy costs for society as a whole, and Kaluza is an OVO Group company. Kaluza had been developing its business back in the time Mitsubishi Corporation had made the investment, and was looking to expand its business in Japan. Mitsubishi Corporation also established a new power company – MC Retail Energy – in 2015 prior to the full deregulation of electricity retailing. MC Retail Energy has proven an industry pioneer by leading EV dynamic pricing verification testing publicly tendered by Japan’s Ministry of Economy, Trade, and Industry for three years and by developing an industry-leading plan for EVs. The smart charging service to follow in the wake of the EV dynamic pricing demonstration is scheduled to be completed by mid-FY2024 and marketed in the latter half of FY2024.

Mitsubishi Corporation, Mitsubishi Motors, MC Retail Energy, and Kaluza have chosen to collaborate out of a shared recognition stemming from their studies of EV adoption trends that EVs were being charged at the same times of day (e.g., evenings). Kenta Kido, a manager in the Power Service Department (Utility Retail Division, Electric Power Solution Group) noted:
“In recent years, renewable energy has been increasingly introduced on the power generation side, and supply from relatively unstable power sources has increased. The spread of EVs has made it difficult to balance supply and demand on the demand side as well, as demand may jump dramatically when users' charging times overlap. As an electricity supply-demand imbalance could lead to large-scale power outages, greater efforts will be required in future to stabilize the supply-demand balance. Given these circumstances, optimizing EV charging has taken on major significance. Having customers plug in and unplug chargers themselves and shift their own charging times to optimize charging is quite an imposition, while controlling charging remotely or automatically generally requires that customers purchase a smart charger or other device with communication capabilities. However, this new smart charging service allows customers to simply specify the time they want to complete charging and then plug in their chargers.”

In developing this service, Mitsubishi Motors provided the connected system technology, MC Retail Energy formulated the electricity plan for EVs, Kaluza supplied the platform technology, and Mitsubishi Corporation coordinated the project.
“MMC has been working in the field of energy management utilizing electrically powered vehicles since the launch of the world's first mass-produced EVs and PHEVs. In this demonstration project, we are aiming to optimize charging by utilizing vehicle data acquired through connected functions, thereby contributing to lower charging costs and CO₂ emissions for our customers. Under our "With Partners" policy, we will continue developing new businesses in collaboration with partner companies." (Kazuaki Iwamoto, Corporate Officer and Division General Manager, Mobility Business Division, Mitsubishi Motors)

“We believe this demonstration will make the most of MC Retail Energy's knowledge and experience to date. MC Retail Energy will leverage the knowledge it has gained over three years as the lead manager of the "Demonstration Project on Shifting EV Charging through Dynamic Pricing" publicly tendered by the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry, as well as its pioneering EV menu development capabilities, to provide a new charging experience that reduces electricity rates easily by utilizing unprecedented charging technology and to offer new value.” (Kohei Tanaka, President and CEO, MC Retail Energy)

“Kaluza is pleased to be working with innovative partners to pioneer a smart EV charging service in Japan that is becoming more and more important as EVs become increasingly popular. Kaluza is committed to working with our partners in Japan to provide attractive EV services and help bring about a net-zero society," said Kaluza CEO Melissa Gander.

Mr. Masafumi Ioka, a manager in the Power Service Department (Utility Retail Division, Electric Power Solutions Group) involved in coordination efforts, made sure that communication was smooth so that the strengths of all participating companies could be demonstrated.

“We assigned technical and business development members from each company to the project and held regular meetings to ensure that all companies were on the same page. Kaluza, a British company, uses an agile approach to development, whereby development is driven by listening to needs while running the project, and there were many things to learn, including cultural differences with Japanese companies. As a result, we were able to bring together technologies from different companies through cross-industry partnering and create a customer experience with unprecedented convenience, environmental friendliness, and economic efficiency," explained Ioka.

The Mitsubishi Group has taken the lead in this smart charging service, which is now on the verge of commercialization. Mr. Nakano believed that "like onboard equipment, this kind of smart charging service will become an indispensable aspect of EV ownership.” He then went on to describe future developments as follows:

“In the electric power business, MC is working to establish an electric power value chain that integrates power generation and sales. We would like to create new value by taking full advantage of MC's accumulated knowledge and relationships with partners. Kaluza and OVO have been providing smart charging services in the UK since 2023, saving the equivalent of more than 7.7 million pounds (approximately 1500 million yen) in electricity costs and contributing to a 403-ton reduction in CO₂ emissions. We expect to contribute similarly to enhancing customer convenience and cutting costs and CO₂ emissions in Japan. Going forward, we intend to expand our service by partnering with automobile companies and electricity retailers and thereby do our part in achieving carbon-neutral societies," said Nakano.