Toyota and Mazda start tests of energy storage system using electrified vehicle batteries
Toyota Motor Corporation (Toyota) and Mazda Motor Corporation (Mazda) have started field tests of Toyota’s Sweep Energy Storage System* at Mazda’s Hiroshima plant in Japan.
The tests involve the power system at Mazda’s headquarters campus – the only power generation system operated by an automaker in Japan – and Toyota’s system, which utilises batteries from electrified vehicles, being connected through their respective energy management systems. This will enable the verification of stable, high-quality and efficient charging and discharging.
In the future, the storage system will be used to regulate power supply and demand from renewable energy, which fluctuates depending on the weather and time of day.
The tests are aimed at contributing to the development of a battery ecosystem, one element in the seven mobility industry issues being addressed industry-wide by the Japan Automobile Manufacturers Association. The battery ecosystem is focused on sustainable re-use of batteries – including those from electrified vehicles – to support stable procurement of critical resources and the building of a resilient supply chain.
Both companies will continue to take on challenges across the industry, focusing on a multi-path approach to achieve carbon neutrality and strengthen industry competitiveness.
*The system rapidly switches each battery’s power flow on and off, even when new batteries are connected to degraded batteries, or ones with different capacity.
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