Honda and Mitsubishi Corporation (MC) have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to begin discussions toward the creation of new businesses in the electric vehicle (EV) and EV battery sector. The two parties want to leverage their strengths to build sustainable business models in light of the anticipated growth in the EV market.
Bear in mind the company in question here is Mitsubishi Corporation, the Japanese conglomerate, and not Mitsubishi Motors, the carmaker that’s part of the Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi Alliance. MC’s wide scope includes businesses in natural gas, industrial materials, chemicals solution, mineral resources, industrial infrastructure, automotive and mobility, food, consumer industry, power solution and urban development.
Honda and MC have outlined the areas that they want to jointly work on, and battery lifetime management is one of them. The plan is to maximise the value of batteries that will be installed in Honda mini-EV models, which are scheduled to launch in Japan next year.
With a sophisticated battery-monitoring system, the new business would manage and maximise the value of each battery throughout its lifetime, shifting from powering the EVs to a repurposed life as stationary energy storage. This would also reduce the total ownership cost for EV owners, the companies say.
The second area is the smart-charging and V2G energy management business, which would help EV users to optimise their electricity costs by offering access to smart-charging, vehicle-to-grid (V2G) services and green/renewable power, which leverages advanced control technologies for the energy management system.
Smart charging systems automatically adjust the timing of EV charging to avoid peak load periods and optimise energy consumption. Meanwhile, in the V2G system, EVs will not only take electricity from the grid but also supply electricity back to the grid to help meet local electricity needs.
“Preparing for the era of full-fledged popularisation of EVs, Honda will not only sell EVs, but take a proactive approach to energy management, where EV batteries will be utilised as an energy source, and we are also focusing on resource circulation, including the reuse and repurposing of EV batteries, which contain various rare resources,” said Honda CEO Toshihiro Mibe.
“Starting with this initiative with MC in the area of mini-EVs in Japan, Honda will strive to maximise the value we offer to our customers and build a foundation for sustainable business from a long-term perspective, while working with a variety of partners and accommodating the unique market characteristics of each region,” he added.
“We understand that the convergence of different sectors such as mobility, energy, services and data is an irreversible trend. Examples can be seen all over the world, as companies seek to go carbon neutral, and new business models like MaaS and CASE (in the auto industry) pick up stream. MC is aiming to develop its own new business models that balance electrification and decarbonisation, to create new cross-industry services, and otherwise reinventing ourselves in keeping with the times,” said Katsuya Nakanishi, MC’s president and CEO.
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