Sojitz Corporation (Head Office: Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo; Representative Director: Masayoshi Fujimoto; “Sojitz”), Nissho Electronics Corporation (Head Office: Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo; Representative Director: Shinichi Teranishi; “Nissho Electronics”) and OMRON SOCIAL SOLUTIONS CO.,LTD. (Head Office: Minato-ku, Tokyo; Representative Director: Katsuhiro Shikata; “OSS”) have completed delivery and installation of EV AutoCharge, a cloud-based battery charging control service for commercial electric vehicles (EVs/PHEVs)^*1 in July 2023 at Sekisui House, Ltd.’s (“Sekisui House”) Toyohashi Branch. In addition to its single-family homebuilding business, Sekisui House is an industry leader in ZEH and ZEB^*2 construction and has built Japan’s first ZEH rental housing and condominium facilities. The company is now advancing an initiative to introduce EVs to its fleet of company vehicles.

Japan’s Ministry of the Environment has framed a policy for achieving carbon neutrality in Japan by 2050 which accelerates the transition to 100% electric car sales by 2035.^*3 The EV market is expected to demonstrate rapid growth in the coming years.

In recent years, the transition to EVs has accelerated, particularly for use by the transportation industry, corporations, offices, and factories as transportation vehicles, official vehicles, and company cars. However, EVs operated during the day need to be fully recharged by the next morning. If all vehicles are simultaneously charged when returned to the base, there is a risk of accelerating the surge in overall societal energy demand during the afternoon and evening hours as well as a risk of power peaks (demand peaks) occurring that drive up capacity charge.

Sojitz, Nissho Electronics, and OSS will provide a solution to achieve efficient charging as commercial EVs and PHEVs continue to increase. EV AutoCharge makes it possible to ascertain the power demand within the facility and distribute energy as needed to optimize charging times and help the facility to avoid unnecessary capacity charge. The three companies launched the service in November 2022 and completed delivery and installation at Sekisui House’s Toyohashi Branch in July, which marks the first step of rollout at Sekisui House facilities. Existing services require routine operations such as manual input of vehicle charging schedules. The EV AutoCharge service automatically detects each vehicle’s remaining battery amount. Rather than carrying out complicated operations, users need only to plug vehicles into the port to achieve optimized battery charging.

Sojitz, Nissho Electronics, and OSS will continue to offer solutions to address social issues, maximize client profits, and create new value through technology-related innovation and business alliances that provide energy-efficient solutions such as V2H and storage battery control services.

Related Information
Press release regarding service launch:/en/news/2022/11/20221109.php

System Overview

*1. EV: Electric vehicles are powered by an electric motor capable of being charged.
PHEV: Plug-in hybrid electric vehicles are equipped with both a gasoline engine and electric motor and can be charged at home with a dedicated outlet.

*2. Zero-energy house/building (ZEH/ZEB): A house/building created with the goal of achieving net zero energy consumption, an equal balance between the primary energy consumed and generated annually while also creating comfortable environments for occupants through strategies including energy-efficient equipment and solar power generation.

*3. Japan’s Ministry of the Environment policies for achieving carbon neutrality by 2050: The Japanese government’s concrete policies for realizing a carbon neutral country by 2050
https://www.env.go.jp/earth/2050carbon_neutral.html
Policies apply to electric vehicles (EV), hybrid vehicles (HV), Plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEV), and fuel cell vehicles (FCV).

Sojitz Corporation
Sojitz Group is engaged in a wide range of businesses globally, including manufacturing, selling, importing, and exporting a variety of products, in addition to providing services and investing in diversified businesses, both in Japan and overseas. Sojitz operates with a 7-division structure comprising the Automotive Division; the Aerospace & Transportation Project Division; the Infrastructure & Healthcare Division; the Metals, Mineral Resources & Recycling Division; the Chemicals Division; the Consumer Industry & Agriculture Business Division; and the Retail & Consumer Service Division.

NISSHO ELECTRONICS CORPORATION
NISSHO ELECTRONICS CORPORATION provides services such as network/IT infrastructure construction, system development, operation, maintenance, and digital transformation support with cutting-edge solutions both in Japan and around the world.

OMRON SOCIAL SOLUTIONS CO.,LTD.
OMRON SOCIAL SOLUTIONS CO.,LTD. utilizes original automation technology for automated ticket gates and other train station automation systems. OSS has developed public systems that have served as the first of their kind in Japan and overseas. Moving forward, OSS will continue to quickly grasp labor shortages, energy, resilience, and other social issues to build solutions using cutting-edge IoT, AI, and robotics technologies as well as software as part of a comprehensive solution that includes operation and maintenance services in order to realize a society that is safe, secure, and hospitable.

■For press inquiries, contact:

Sojitz Corporation Public Relations Dept.　TEL：03－6871－3404

OMRON SOCIAL SOLUTIONS CO.,LTD. Group Strategy & Planning H.Q.　TEL：03－6718－3702

■For business-related inquiries and other general customer inquiries, contact:

Sojitz Corporation Renewable Energy Business Dept.　TEL:03－6871－3420

NISSHO ELECTRONICS CORPORATION
Innovation Promotion Dept., DX Business Division　Email: evps@nissho-ele.co.jp

OMRON SOCIAL SOLUTIONS CO.,LTD.
Business Development Dept., Energy Solutions Business H.Q.　TEL：050－1800－7073