(Professor Togawa, Kumamoto University, who was also the moderator of the day)
On January 14, 2022, the 6th wave of Omicron strains was rushing in, and the Battery Summit 2022 was held at the Tokyo Gakushi Kaikan with thorough infection control measures. It's been a long time since I came to Tokyo and the weather is fine. Although I am still an inexperienced , I moderated the first half. (the moderator of the second half and the social gathering were touched by Professor Komei Harada. I studied again with his vivid reins.) This time, I was able to listen to 11 lectures with Professor Yoshino's lecture as a closing.
Tesla Japan Energy Product Country Manager Shinji Asakura
"Accelerating the world's transition to sustainable energy"
Even now, I realized that Tesla has already transformed into a comprehensive energy producer including automobiles, not an automobile (only) manufacturer.
Elon Musk emphasized in the 2006 master plan
1.Making low-volume production cars that are inevitable to be expensive
2.Make lower-priced medium-volume vehicles with that sales
3.Make even lower-priced mass-produced cars with the sales
and...
4. Provide solar energy.
The above was listed. And the plan was not noticed by myself who really lives in Kyushu, but apparently it was quite achieved.
And already in 2016, Elon Musk had announced a new master plan.
That is,
-Battery: Manufacture of a great solar roof that is seamlessly integrated with storage. --Expand EV product lineup to cover all major segments.
-Learn from the actual driving of Tesla cars around the world and develop self-driving capabilities that are 10 times safer than driving by humans.
-Building a business model that allows the owner to secure income with the car while not using it.
Mr. Asakawa, the lecturer, was in charge of Tesla's energy products in Japan, and introduced that end users are already enjoying Tesla's energy supply in Japan, centering on the main product MEGAPACK. Solar Panel and Solar Roof also seemed to be making remarkable progress in the United States.
Especially in Japan with the Nine Electric Power Corporates system, a power outage is fatal in the current IT society even for a short time. Tesla's Power Wall is sold for less than one million yen. And, as an energy supply machine that can be used as a safety net in case of emergency, Hawaii schools supply 10 power walls to each school, providing a total of 30 schools and 300 units.
Mr. Makoto Yoshida, General Manager of Public Relations, Nissan Motor Co., Ltd. " Aiming Carbon ZERO Society with the Collaboration between Different Industries"
Human beings seek a peaceful and happier life to stop the destruction of the environment. These goals are easy for me, but I'm not sure about the issue of global warming. Obviously, the solution is to crush Japanese industry and treat coal resources that are relatively evenly distributed all over the world as bad guys. Mr. Yoshida first introduced the Joint Statement of COP26. The United States, China, Japan, Germany, France, Italy, etc., which hold domestic automobile manufacturers, have not signed, but many European countries have decided to abolish internal combustion engine automobiles.
I felt Mr. Yoshida was questioning the demerits of EVs, such as the shakeout of the automobile parts industry and the attempt to ban the use of hybrid cars, which is a Japanese specialty, in Europe and elsewhere. I was most impressed by the concern of Nissan, which develops and designs the Leaf, Toyota and Honda would be banned from using their own developed superior technology due to strange regulations. In addition, Mr. Yoshida warned against the "standardization" trap. That good products do not always become a global standard.
Do you know the documentary film "Who Killed the Electric Car?" Released in 2006? EV1 electric vehicle was launched by GM in the 1990s. Even though its performance was not bad, it is said that it will be collected and disposed of more and more from enthusiasts. why? Is it a plot of the oil industry? Various hypotheses have been made, but Mr. Yoshida pointed Ford has developed a charging electrical standard different from GM and California employed not GM's as a charging standard, and Ford's one that Ford was willing to sell .
From such cases, we keenly realized that we must not only develop good products but also lead the world through lobbying activities until standardization. Mr. Yoshida actively called for exchanges with different industries because the Leaf battery is long and requires more integrated industry-academia-government collaboration in order to be used meaningfully. If left to the market mechanism alone, EVs used in Japan will be exported overseas more and more as used cars, and international cooperation is required for advanced secondary battery usage scenarios, but the road is extremely difficult at present. I felt.
DeNA Co., Ltd. Fellow Toru Futami "Mobility and Energy Revolution with Zero Emission Cycle"
DeNA is famous for reforming the management structure of the baseball team as a sponsor of the Yokohama BayStars of the Central League, a professional baseball team. At the same time the company taking the warming problem as business chances is addressing The Mobility Energy Revolution.
By the way, Mr. Futami is emphasizes as solutions for Decarbonized society;
55% is the development and popularization of renewable energy, energy saving.
45% emphasized the need to promote the circular economy, that is, to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from products, and said that they were just beginning to prepare for this 45%.
In order to promote the circular economy, it is necessary to have a mechanism of "repeated use", and for that purpose, the "lease" form that we continue to hold is important, but it is said that the role of a circulation provider that visualizes it and evolving it firmly is indispensable. DeNA seems to have accumulated various know-how for that purpose.
In fact, as observed in Kyushu, there are cases where even if renewable energy can be produced, it cannot be used because it is too much. Mr. Futami emphasizes that such waste should be resolved immediately, and for that reason, the future is bright when the circulation provider is recognized. In other words, if recycling providers are utilized, a new business model that combines powerful renewable energy and the circular economy as social infrastructure will be created.
In addition, sharing is a good way to use the circular economy, especially EV, but Mr. Futami seems to recognize an advantage over the smart usage of Japanese people "thinking about people who will use it later".. However, it is undeniable that the division of society is becoming more and more advanced in Japan, partly due to the corona. As Mr. Futami pointed out again, how to prevent the tragedy of the Commons is a big point. As a writer majoring in economic policies that are easy to apply to modern society, I feel the need to give some financial incentives. As Mr. Futami pointed out, this is an issue that should be seriously explored in Japan, which is facing a super-aging society.
Mr. Tsuguo Nobe, Visiting Associate Professor, Nagoya University "No waiting for a carbon-free society! -Necessity of fostering the battery industry-"
First, in a bird's-eye view of the global market for battery-powered electric vehicles: BEV, China has achieved its own growth in this field while introducing foreign capital, and China now holds a 75% share of the world's batteries.
What was interesting was the story of smart EV and energy management. It is said that China is ahead of the others in this smart EV. Recalling that the "feature phone" culture that Japan was proud of until the Lehman shock can also collect data, and Japan has taken the lead in this field. However, with the advent of smartphones, the situation has changed in a blink of an eye, and China ha taken the lead. Professor Nobe said, "Japan once imported and depended on oil and suffered from the oil crisis. And now, Europe and the United States are also policy-reinforcing the battery industry, and the time will come when Japan will have to import batteries as well. If it is serious about carbon-neutral, it is essential to develop an EV battery, which is a key device, and to make advanced use of it. It was a lecture that made me keenly aware.
Dr. jyun Furukawa, Advisor of Furukawa Battery Co., Ltd. "Market trends and technological trends of lead-acid batteries"
While it was emphasized at the social gathering, lead batteries is hidden behind the lithium-ion battery, and the opportunity to talk about lead batteries is diminishing. However, I realized that the company has been steadily working on the production and improvement of lead batteries, and that our lives are supported by lead batteries.
Mr. Furukawa used the European ELV Directive as an example, and lead was becoming subject to regulation in the same way as cadmium, but while introducing the current situation where its use is exceptionally permitted, considering the trend the current European EV promotion policy, the case of banning the use of lead batteries in Europe is not null and it gives a sense of crisis. However, basically, lead battery recovery routes have been established in developed countries. I've heard cases of banning the use of lead and using bismuth as an alternative, but in terms of risk management, the wisdom to make good use of the lead that human beings have been using for a long time is exactly required.
However, after Mr. Furukawa's lecture, the audience, who has been engaged in secondary smelting of lead for many years, said, "In the recycling and handling process of lead batteries, exposure to the human body and environmental risks are really perfect? Isn't the actual situation quite dangerous? "
Finally, in 2017, we reiterated that Mr. Furukawa was awarded "THE GASTON PLANTÉ MEDAL" at the 10th International Conference on Lead-Acid Batteries held in Bulgaria. This award is given to Gaston, the inventor of lead-acid batteries, in order to praise the achievements of researchers and engineers who have contributed most to the development of research, technology and development of lead-acid batteries once in three years.・ This award was created in the name of Plante. Mr. Furukawa's honest work is highly evaluated overseas.
Introduction of FREYR battery and overview of European battery industry FREYR battery Mr. Masaaki Nishijima & Mr. Ryuta Kawaguchi
Lecture using Teams from Norway. It is not surprisingly known that Norway is not a member of the EU, because while enjoying economic prosperity, public opinion skeptical of the benefits of joining the EU, concerns about the impact on the resource industry,.its own agriculture and fishing by joining the EU.
In Norway, Mr. Nishijima said, "Environmental awareness is still high. I feel that the people are basically rich because they work together as a couple." The SDGs are also the concept of led by former Norwegian Prime Minister Bruntland. SD: how to achieve sustainable development, and the important theme of the SDGs for women's social advancement seems to be steadily progressing there.
By the way, it is said that more than 100 types of EVs are now on the market in Norway and can be purchased at a reasonable price. The travel distances is 400 to 500 km on a single charge, so the charging infrastructure is in place. Especially in winter, EVs get warmer quickly thanks to the heat pump, and you can enjoy a comfortable mobility life. Also, I was able to hear the story of the geographical advantage of Norway.
In any case, Europe is trying to promote the production of batteries, including the UK and Norway, but in reality, Chinese and Korean manufacturers are ahead. Therefore, Mr. Nishijima suggests that Japan, which has long-standing know-how in this field, has business opportunities in Europe as well. FREYR battery’s lecture let the audience feel its enthusiasm when Japanese companies expand into Europe the company would be happy to form partnerships and seize business opportunities through a major transformation that is said to be once every 100 years.
Asahi Kasei Corporation Honorary Fellow Akira Yoshino "Future Society Opened by Lithium Ion Batteries"
At the time of this lecture, Professor Yoshino prepared talks on three themes, but he presented easy to understand while entwining in-vehicle lithium-ion batteries mainly with MaaS: Mobility as a Service, mainly the society pioneered by lithium-ion batteries due to time constraints with slides and videos. By the way, AIEV will eventually be able to reduce costs to one-seventh if CASE becomes widespread, and will have the ability to carry energy as well as humans. In other words, AIEV would evolved as an unmanned charge / discharge system.
Professor Yoshino is expected to have the merits of freeing the movement of elderly people in depopulated areas, reducing traffic congestion, and above all, reducing the environmental burden in the coming autonomous driving society. And he warned that GAFA, especially Google and Apple, would increasingly dominate the global economy.
The following is the table shown by Dr. Yoshino's slide. Google holds Android as well as downstream, and if society moves at this pace, it is likely to reign as the center of the EV industry. I felt that Professor Yoshino raised a big question about how Japanese industry, academia and government would perceive this.
I am also interested in how the information strategy based on China's Belt and Road policy will confront Google and other strongholds. I also realized that there are still many challenges to consider about how hackers will be affected in the future.
Addendum) Immediately after writing this article, a large eruption occurred off the coast of Tonga. It seems that many people were damaged by this natural disaster. I would like to express my deepest sympathies. At the same time, I would like environmental researchers, mainly meteorologists, to clarify the extent of the global warming effect caused by the destruction of nature to prevent the decarbonization policy from going the wrong way.
(Kenichi Togawa, Kumamoto University Edited by IRUNIVERSE)
