At an exhibition on smart grids held in Tokyo from the 2nd to the 4th of March, 110 companies (mainly of manufacturers of electrical equipment) displayed the latest products and technology in this area. The show also attracted many visitors from China, North America and Europe.
The Hitachi Group made a strong pitch for the strength it possesses by virtue of its store of technology related to transport systems and other components of the social infrastructure in addition to its power generation and system technology, plus the information technology to pull all these high-tech strands together. The Group’s panel display profiled the “smart city” concept it is promoting in China.
The Toshiba Group exhibited commercial and model products including the super-charge ion battery (SCiB), a new secondary battery of its own development, as well as a power system simulator, smart meters and photovoltaic (PV) power generation systems for residential use.
Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Ltd. showed off its hybrid forklifts mounted with original lithium-ion batteries and its electric storage systems. Mitsubishi Electric Corporation sketched the smart grid verification test being conducted at its plants and other sites, and publicized its line of solar batteries and other products.
The Fuji Electric Group drew attention to its products for a micro grid system for outlying islands which it is building with Kyushu Electric Power Co., Inc. and other firms. IHI Corporation, too, exhibited lithium-ion batteries it has been marketing jointly with the U.S. venture firm A123 Systems, Inc. (headquartered in Massachusetts) since October 2009.
