Toshiba Corporation (TOKYO:6502) today announced that Toshiba Transmission and Distribution Europe S.p.A. (TTDE), an Italian Toshiba Group company, has signed an agreement for the joint development of energy management systems optimized for the eurozone with ENEA, the Italian National Agency for New Technologies, Energy and Sustainable Economic Development. The agreement covers wide range matters including energy efficiency, renewable energy sources, smart grids, electric storage for the grid and electric mobility (e.g.: Micro Energy Management System – μEMS1, rechargeable battery systems, innovative PV technologies).
Europe accounts for approximately 70% of the electricity produced by photovoltaic generation (PV) in the world, and continues to lead other regions in the introduction of renewable energy sources. This is particularly true of Italy, where growth in renewable is stimulating demand for grid management systems to manage power fluctuations in areas that have introduced PV intensively, and to overcome the inability to transmit wind generated power due to insufficient transmission capacity.
Toshiba has participated in many proof-of-concept demonstrations of smart grid technologies around the world, including Rome, the Italian capital, Lyon in France and Los Alamos in Arizona in the U.S. Drawing on its long-standing capabilities and the expertise obtained in these and other projects, combined with local information collected by ENEA at its research facilities throughout Italy, Toshiba will work with TTDE to propose optimal energy solutions such as grid stabilization with μEMS and frequency control and adjustment by introducing rechargeable batteries for localized grid balancing.
Toshiba is building a strong presence in next generation T&D in Europe,” said Takeshi Yokota, Corporate Vice President of Toshiba. “We acquired TTDE, the former Ansaldo T&D2, in March 2011, and in December 2012, Toshiba and TTDE won an engineering, procurement and construction contract from Terna3 for a high voltage and direct current power conversion system. In July 2011, we acquired Landis+Gyr, the world leader in smart meters, and earlier this month we acquired a majority interest in cyberGRID, an Austrian developer and provider of intelligent energy management solutions. We have all the capabilities required for a successful collaboration with ENEA. We will customize our state-of-the-art technologies for the European market through collaboration with ENEA and boost our grid solution business in Europe.
