Mitsubishi leaps into the Smart Grid game with $76M initiative

The movement toward a cleaner, more efficient Smart Grid is suddenly becoming vital to a range of existing companies. Appliance makers, software empires and automotive giants alike are all rushing to get a piece of what is quickly becoming a billion dollar business unto itself. The newest entrant: Mitsubishi Electric, which today threw down $76 million for a far-reaching Smart Grid strategy (PDF).

Couched as a two-year experiment starting this year, the plan’s goal is to research and develop advanced technologies to revamp the grid and increase energy efficiency. Like many of its corporate peers in the game, the Japanese company is taking a holistic approach: one that connects renewable energy generation, plug-in vehicles, household networking and energy storage solutions into one ecosystem.

Mitsubishi Electric has been building photovoltaic and battery products for a while now. The new emphasis on the Smart Grid could potentially jumpstart both business segments. More will be invested in developing storage solutions capable of making solar power generation available at night or when the sun isn’t shining.

To demonstrate how its various technologies will work together, the company plans to install a 4-megawatt photovoltaic system, a 500-kilowatt rechargeable battery, an electric vehicle charging station, 150 smart meters, and requisite other infrastructure at its site in Amagasaki, Japan. The idea is to simulate how the Smart Grid could operate under various conditions.

To take a closer look at just the solar piece of the puzzle, Mitsubishi will be installing a 200-kilowatt photovoltaic system in Wkayama, and a demonstration plant in Ofuna. Tackling household energy management — an increasingly big business in the U.S. — the company is also setting up a test facility that will include residential solar panels, standard home appliances, a smart meter and assorted other networking equipment. Each of these sites is expected to be up and running by next spring, with experiments starting in 2012.

Data collected from these various research sites will be used to develop new products and architectures that could enhance the performance of existing Smart Grid technologies. Mitsubishi is placing particular emphasis on the photovoltaic segment of its business. It has identified China, India, North America and Southeast Asia as regions to target.

As Earth2Tech points out, several major Japanese corporations have taken a greater interest in the Smart Grid recently, including Toshiba (which landed a relevant partnership with SunPower in early March), Zhimizu and Kyocera. And South Korean giant Samsung also just announced that it will sink $20.6 billion into green technologies, with a special focus on solar.

But Smart Grid efforts aren’t only heating up in Asia. At the end of last month, General Electric joined forces with Nissan to research the impact electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles may have on national electric grids — and how predicted grid overload crises may be averted. Other U.S. corporations like Cisco Systems, IBM, Intel and Microsoft have also been vocal about offering Smart Grid products to utilities and homeowners alike.

However, with consumer-friendly plug-in cars like Nissan’s Leaf and General Motors’ Chevy Volt preparing to launch as early as this year, it seems like Smart Grid solutions to major challenges are needed now — not in several years.

Some analysts say that less than 10 electric cars on the same block could cause power outages. If this is true, Mitsubishi, General Electric, and the rest will need to race electric vehicle market adoption to make sure the grid can handle the next generation of transportation. This sounds dicier than it should be.

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Tags: electric vehicles, Smart Grid, Solar