Introducing EV/PHV Chargers into Facilities of Mitsubishi Estate Group Implementation of Carbon-Free Charging Environment Utilizing Green Electricity Certificate
Installation of 437 NEC-Developed AC Chargers for EV/PHV at 10 Facilities

July 29, 2015

For Immediate Use

Mitsubishi Estate Co., Ltd.

NEC Corporation

Mitsubishi Estate Co., Ltd. and NEC Corporation will install NEC-developed AC chargers for electric vehicles (EV) and plug-in hybrid vehicles (PHV), and begin providing a carbon-free paid charging service that uses natural energy generated by wind power purchased by Mitsubishi Estate Co., Ltd. The service will commence from August 2015 in the Marunouchi PARK-IN in Tokyo’s Marunouchi area. It will then be successively expanded to additional areas in Japan, including Yokohama Landmark Tower, Sunshine City (Tokyo), the Sendai Royal Park Hotel and others; 10 facilities of the Mitsubishi Estate Group in total.

In recent years, the number of EV and PHV has been increasing. EV and PHV are expected to comprise 15% to 20% of new vehicle sales by the year 2020 (*1), and this number will continue to grow in the future. The charging units will be introduced into hotels, commercial facilities and office buildings of the Mitsubishi Estate Group around the country.

Every year, Mitsubishi Estate purchases 1 million kWh of wind power from Japan Natural Energy Company Limited, and this natural energy will be utilized for these charging services by means of the Green Electricity Certificate (*2). Therefore, no carbon dioxide emissions are created during the use of EV and PHV, or during power generation for these charging services, thereby contributing to the establishment of a low carbon society. According to research by Mitsubishi Estate and NEC, this project represents the first introduction of EV and PHV charging equipment into multiple facilities by a private enterprise utilizing the Green Electricity Certificate.

This project uses subsidies provided by the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry under its “Promotion of Development of Next-Generation Vehicle Charging Infrastructure” program. A total of 437 units of wall-mounted AC chargers for EV and PHV will be installed in 10 facilities of the Mitsubishi Estate Group. Accordingly, wall-mounted charging controllers developed by NEC will also be installed for user authentication for multiple chargers, billing management, central monitoring and control.

180 units will be installed in Sunshine City, which is the largest number of installations in a single facility in Tokyo. Traffic access to Sunshine City is extremely convenient and it is located near Ikebukuro Station, which has the second highest number of passengers taking trains and transferring per day in Japan (*3), making the facility ideal for “park and ride.” By launching the service in central offices of the Mitsubishi Estate Group, such as Marunouchi, Yokohama and Ikebukuro, a large number of users are expected, both on weekdays and the weekends.

The Mitsubishi Estate Group aims to improve the customer service of each facility as well as to contribute further to eco-friendly cities through these charging services. Based on the Group’s fundamental mission of being “Committed to Environmental Sustainability,” the Group will continue to contribute to society by building a sustainable community through business activities.

The NEC Group is undertaking the worldwide promotion of solutions for society that offer advanced social infrastructure using ICT, and is helping to solve various social problems as a company that creates social value. The NEC Group will continue to expand its products and services to build the infrastructure for EV and PHV charging services that are safe, convenient and easy to use, as it helps to achieve a low carbon society through the promotion of eco-friendly next-generation vehicles.

Notes

^*1 Release by the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry in 2014.

^*2 This is a system of trading the environmental added value of electricity generated using renewable energy in the form of a certificate. The Green Electricity Certificate is certified by the Green Energy Certification Center, which is a third party certification institute. The company purchasing the certificate is considered to be using green electricity and making a contribution to the promotion of natural energy through the amount of electricity recorded on the certificate, even if the company itself does not own any renewable energy generation facilities.

^*3 Research on Yamanote Line stations by Toyo Keizai.