NEDO (New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organization), MIRAI-LABO Corporation, Oriental Land Co., Ltd.
Commencement of Demonstration Experiment for "Autonomous Energy Infrastructure AIR" Combining Solar Road Surface Power Generation Panels and Storage Batteries
• Development of Battery Controller for Autonomous Power System and Verification of Practicality
- Under NEDO's "Technology Research and Development Project for Exploration and Commercialization of New Energy and Others" (hereinafter referred to as "the project"), MIRAI-LABO Corporation, in collaboration with Oriental Land Co., Ltd., has installed the "Autonomous Energy Infrastructure AIR (Autonomous Intelligent Road)" combining Solar Mobiway, solar power generation panels that can be laid on road surfaces, and EV RePass batteries, which reuse batteries emitted from used electric vehicles (EVs), at the company's headquarters site in Urayasu City, Chiba Prefecture. The project aims to start the verification experiment of the battery controller and the autonomous power system. The experiment includes confirming the functionality of the battery controller, which allows simultaneous charging and discharging while seamlessly switching batteries, as well as exploring improvements to the Maximum Power Point Tracking (MPPT) function to enhance efficiency. The performance evaluation of "Autonomous Energy Infrastructure AIR" will be conducted.
Based on the data accumulated through this verification experiment, the goal is to commercialize the project in the fiscal year 2025.
Figure 1: "Autonomous Energy Infrastructure AIR" installed on the pedestrian walkway (left) and roadway (right) within the Oriental Land headquarters premises.
1. Background In the context of increasing demands for carbon neutrality and strengthening power recovery (resilience), the introduction of natural energy such as solar power faces challenges related to landscape, concerns about soil and sand disasters, and impacts on living environments due to reflected light and noise. Even with extensive premises, companies may hesitate to introduce such systems. As a solution, MIRAI-LABO Corporation has developed the "Autonomous Energy Infrastructure AIR※1," which combines Solar Mobiway, solar power generation panels suitable for road surfaces, and EV re-purpose batteries that reuse batteries from short-distance EVs.
However, concerns include the fluctuation of power generation efficiency caused by shadows when people or vehicles pass over the solar road surface power generation panels of "Autonomous Energy Infrastructure AIR" and the potential operation of safety devices due to current during battery switching in EV RePass batteries. To address these concerns, MIRAI-LABO Corporation has been working on the development of seamless switch and charge/discharge control controllers since the fiscal year 2022 under NEDO's project※2.
2.Overview of Demonstration Experiment
(1) Duration July 18, 2023 - July 17, 2024 (scheduled)
(2) Experiment Location With the cooperation of Oriental Land Co., Ltd., the experiment will be conducted at the company's headquarters premises in Urayasu City, Chiba Prefecture. "Autonomous Energy Infrastructure AIR" has been installed on roadways for pedestrians and vehicles, allowing the collection of shadow data generated by traffic at a frequency above a certain threshold, totaling approximately 200 square meters.
(3) Experiment Content The demonstration experiment will confirm the functionality of the battery controller, which allows simultaneous charging and discharging while seamlessly switching batteries. Specifically, the newly developed seamless battery switching control method for EV RePass batteries and the safety monitoring function capable of handling overcurrent during switching will be tested, and considerations for performance improvement will be made. During power generation, voltage, current, and power generation data affected by shadows when people or vehicles pass over the solar road surface power generation panels will be acquired and verified. Based on accumulated data, a new MPPT control algorithm for solar road surface power generation that improves efficiency compared to existing MPPT control will be developed, and its practicality will be confirmed. Additionally, the performance of "Autonomous Energy Infrastructure AIR" as a whole will be evaluated, ensuring stable power output for 72 consecutive hours even during non-sunlight conditions throughout the year, confirming the system specifications.
Figure 2: Image of shadow occurrence.
3. Future Plans MIRAI-LABO Corporation aims to propose and expand "Autonomous Energy Infrastructure AIR" to theme parks and amusement parks nationwide. Additionally, based on the data accumulated through this verification experiment, the company plans to propose solutions to businesses, organizations, and local governments that own sites suitable for introducing natural energy, such as convenience stores, shopping malls, parks, and school facilities but face difficulties in implementation. The goal is to commercialize the project in the fiscal year 2025.
NEDO will continue to support research and development that contributes to the promotion and expansion of the introduction of renewable energy, as well as the development of low-carbon and decarbonization technologies, in accordance with the stages of research and development from technology seeds to commercialization.
[Notes] ※1 Autonomous Energy Infrastructure AIR. AIR stands for Autonomous Intelligent Road, which combines decentralized power generation by Solar Mobiway, solar road surface power generation panels, and decentralized energy storage by EV re-purpose batteries. It is a collective term for a new energy infrastructure service that supplies autonomous power to sensing, communication, lighting, and other elements.
Figure 3: Image of Autonomous Energy Infrastructure AIR.
※2 This Project Project Name: Technology Research and Development Project for Exploration and Commercialization of New Energy and Others Project Period: Fiscal year 2022 - Fiscal year 2024 Project Overview: Technology research and development project for exploration and commercialization of new energy and others. https://www.nedo.go.jp/activities/CA_00251.html
※3 MPPT MPPT is an acronym for Maximum Power Point Tracker, referring to the control that automatically determines the optimum current × voltage value (maximum power point or optimal operating point) that maximizes output when solar cells generate power.
