Oct. 17, 2011
Central Motor Co., Ltd.
Toyota Motor Corporation
Toyota Motor Corporation
TMC and Central Motor Begin Energy Management Study
for North Sendai Industrial Area
Study Aimed at Increasing Regional Appeal, Contributing to Recovery Process
October 17, 2011―Toyota Motor Corporation (TMC) and Central Motor Co., Ltd. (Central Motor) announce that they received a Japanese government grant for a jointly proposed energy-management "F-Grid Concept"1 project for the Second North Sendai Central Industrial Area in Ohira, Miyagi Prefecture. The two companies now plan to begin full-scale surveys and feasibility studies.
The F-Grid Concept aims to create "smart communities" with industrial areas playing a central role. Through energy-management that is not limited to individual plants but that also encompasses inter-plant and plant-region energy management, even higher energy efficiency and use of renewable energy can be promoted. Plants in such industrial areas can expect to benefit from improved environmental performance, economic efficiency and security as well as additional value, competitiveness and appeal in the area and the region, thus stimulating industry, promoting regions and contributing to recovery efforts following natural disasters.
The project for the Second North Sendai Central Industrial Area―the first under the F-Grid Concept―aims to measure the combined effects of the below five initiative themes and to examine and evaluate the overall impact of the themes' introduction.
The F-Grid Concept aims to create "smart communities" with industrial areas playing a central role. Through energy-management that is not limited to individual plants but that also encompasses inter-plant and plant-region energy management, even higher energy efficiency and use of renewable energy can be promoted. Plants in such industrial areas can expect to benefit from improved environmental performance, economic efficiency and security as well as additional value, competitiveness and appeal in the area and the region, thus stimulating industry, promoting regions and contributing to recovery efforts following natural disasters.
The project for the Second North Sendai Central Industrial Area―the first under the F-Grid Concept―aims to measure the combined effects of the below five initiative themes and to examine and evaluate the overall impact of the themes' introduction.
F-Grid Concept Initiative Themes
1. Improve energy self-sufficiency rate of plants
2. Enable flexible energy interchange with nearby plants
3. Build network for local energy supply (including backup for disasters)
4. Use renewable energy on a large scale
5. Save energy through plant energy management
The surveys and feasibility studies are scheduled to run from October 2011 to March 2012, carried out by a committee and a working group in which academic experts, local industry, local energy providers, national agencies and prefectural and Ohira governing bodies are to participate. This format is aimed at facilitating substantive discussion on ways to resolve issues while maintaining a cooperative framework with external parties and the local community.
1. Improve energy self-sufficiency rate of plants
2. Enable flexible energy interchange with nearby plants
3. Build network for local energy supply (including backup for disasters)
4. Use renewable energy on a large scale
5. Save energy through plant energy management
The surveys and feasibility studies are scheduled to run from October 2011 to March 2012, carried out by a committee and a working group in which academic experts, local industry, local energy providers, national agencies and prefectural and Ohira governing bodies are to participate. This format is aimed at facilitating substantive discussion on ways to resolve issues while maintaining a cooperative framework with external parties and the local community.
Second North Sendai Central Industrial Area F-Grid (artist's rendition)
1"F" stands for factory
