Marubeni Corporation (hereinafter, “Marubeni”) is pleased to announce that it is launching a Proof of Concept (hereinafter, “PoC”) through its subsidiaries and partners in the UK, to explore the commercialisation of services whereby EVs store surplus energy from decentralised power generation facilities, such as roof-top solar panels, and supply energy to buildings when needed (hereinafter, “Vehicle to Building”). EVs will also provide power frequency, and supply and demand adjustment to the grid system by feeding electricity back to the grid at peak times and/or in the case of an emergency (hereinafter, “Vehicle to Grid”).

The U.K. government passed legislation in June 2019 to reduce greenhouse gas emissions to net zero by 2050 and is advancing policies to realize a low-carbon society. In the power sector, there has been a shift from a one-way supply structure, whereby large-scale power plants generate electricity and supply it to consumers, to a bi-directional supply structure, in which consumers may also own renewable power facilities and produce and consume green electricity, selling surplus electricity to the grid.

Also, with the recent growth in large-scale renewable energy such as offshore wind power, which generates a variable amount of electricity according to the weather conditions, there is an increasing need for grid stabilization through supply and demand adjustment.

In the car industry, the U.K. government has announced its policy to ban the sale of new gasoline and diesel vehicles beginning in 2030, and the take-up of EVs is expected to continue growing. Under such circumstances, the requirement to provide one-stop solutions, for instance electricity supply and energy management services for homes, buildings and offices through the use of EVs, is expected to increase further in the future.

Considering this exciting environment, Marubeni and its subsidiaries, energy retailer SmartestEnergy and car sales and service provider Marubeni Auto Investment (U.K.), have taken the lead in launching this PoC, working with their partners Origami Energy, Grid Edge and Virta.  By studying the development and commercialisation of Vehicle to Building and Vehicle to Grid services through this PoC, Marubeni aims to contribute to the realization of a low-carbon society.

<About the PoC>

Item	Contents
Duration	March 2021 – February 2022 (one year)
Location	Norton Way Nissan, Letchworth Garden City (car dealership under MAIUK)
Content of PoC	Commercialisation study of Vehicle to Building and Vehicle to Grid services ・Peak shifting, shaving and optimisation of electricity bill using on-site solar and EVs ・Electricity trading using EVs as flexibility, while considering the EV use as mobility

<About the Marubeni Group>

Company Name	Marubeni Europe plc	Marubeni Europower Limited	SmartestEnergy Limited	Marubeni Auto Investment (UK) Limited
Location	London	London	London	Manchester
Established	February 1985	October 1991	May 2000	September 2000
Activities	Trade and Investment	Development of new power projects	Energy retail and aggregation	Car sales and aftercare service
Representatives	Nobuhiro Yabe	Tomoki Nishino	Robert Groves	Toru Masuyama
Role in PoC	Equipment ownership and commercialisation studies	Overall management and commercialisation studies	EV control and service development	EV operation, providing site and commercialisation studies

<About PoC Partners>

Company Name	Origami Energy Limited	Grid Edge Limited	Virta Limited
Location	Cambridge	Birmingham	Birmingham
Established	July 2013	April 2016	May 2019
Activities	Energy trading solution	Energy management solution	EV charger and charging solution
Representatives	Peter Bance	Tom Anderson	Stuart Tolley
Role in PoC	Remote real-time monitoring and visualisation of assets to deliver flexibility services	Behind-the-meter flexibility solution development	Providing bi-directional charger and charging solutions