Azbil Announces Participation in Keidanren’s “Challenge Zero” Declaration

TOKYO, Jun. 9, 2020: Azbil Corporation (Tokyo Stock Exchange Code: 6845) announced its commitment to participate in the “Challenge Zero” declaration put forth by Keidanren (Japan Business Federation). By supporting companies and organizations that resolutely pursue innovation contributing to a net zero carbon society, Keidanren seeks to promote such innovation through ESG (environmental, social, and governance) investment, collaboration between industry and academia, and ties with the Japanese government’s policies and strategies on innovation. Azbil will contribute to Keidanren’s initiative through the following.

Virtual Power Plant Business: Achieving Integrated Control of Various Energy Resources through Azbil’s Automated Demand Response System

Azbil’s automated demand response system uses building energy management systems (BEMS) to network the facilities of consumers of electricity in order to automatically control electricity demand. Carrying out control based on supply and demand enables the virtual creation and distribution of electricity, similar to how a power plant does so physically.
By intelligently controlling electricity provided to consumers, the automated demand response system can aid in energy distribution in cases such as when there are fluctuations of renewable energy output. This contributes to the reduction of construction costs, maintenance costs, and CO2 emissions of power plants as they respond to supply and demand from electric power companies.

About Virtual Power Plants (VPPs) and Demand Response

VPPs function as if renewable energy and consumers’ energy resources are a single power plant. Demand response, which refers to electricity demand being controlled from the consumer side, is an important factor in making VPPs possible.

“RENKEI” Control Technology: Reducing Global CO2 Emissions through the Development and Spread of Control Technology

The Japanese word "RENKEI" is literally translated as "cooperation” or “coordination," which suggests that RENKEI control is technology that connects multiple yet separately operating systems in order to optimize overall operation. In factories and office buildings, one can find multiple units of energy-hungry equipment as well as multiple facilities that provide enough energy to power them. Controlling all of that hardware separately will not be able to adequately take into account fluctuations in demand, which leads to decreased operational efficiency. Azbil’s RENKEI control technology optimizes system-wide operation by using the company’s multivariable model predictive controller package to coordinate the energy-demanding equipment and energy-providing facilities, thereby reducing wasted energy among the hardware arising from discrepancies in energy supply and demand, and resulting in a reduction of overall energy usage and CO2 emissions. This technology does not require existing hardware to be updated so implementation is cost-effective and can be accomplished in a short period of time.

Guided by the azbil Group philosophy of “human-centered automation,” Azbil forges ahead, developing new automation products and striving to contribute “in series” to a sustainable society through the company’s environment and energy life-cycle businesses. Moving forward, Azbil will continue to develop technology in various fields that will contribute to achieving a net zero carbon society.

To learn more about Azbil’s environmental initiatives, please visit the following website.
Azbil's environmental initiatives

* Posted information is accurate as of the date of announcement.