Toyota Media Service Corporation (head office in Nagoya City, Aichi Prefecture; president, Shigeki Tomoyama; "Toyota Media Service"), Toyota Industries Corporation (head office in Kariya City, Aichi Prefecture; president, Akira Onishi; "Toyota Industries") and Nihon Unisys, Ltd. (head office, Koto-ku, Tokyo; president, Shigeru Kurokawa; "Nihon Unisys") were selected for the FY2015 Low Carbon Technology Research and Development Program by the Ministry of the Environment. Since July, they have begun a verification project for an electric vehicle (EV) and plug-in vehicle (PHV) usage promotion platform.

The project is currently in the verification phase of the FY2015 Low Carbon Technology Research and Development Program. Using the EV/PHP usage promotion platform and its connected national charging station infrastructure map, which were developed last year, the project is being implemented with the support of Aichi Prefecture, which offers a developed power charging infrastructure.

In the project, the EV/PHV usage promotion platform developed by Toyota Media Service, the electric power control system for multiple-vehicle chargers developed by Toyota Industries, and the power charging waiting time forecast algorithm developed by Nihon Unisys will be coordinated to provide information to users on the national charging infrastructure map app. The project will look into CO2 emission reductions achieved by promoting more efficient use of chargers.

Furthermore, the project aims to standardize charging infrastructure data specifications and coordinate with information-gathering businesses, organizations, and local governments with the aim of improving user satisfaction regarding search data.

Project summary

(1) Look into effects on charging behavior of users and owners as a result of information transmission features.
(2) Look into the effectiveness of electric power control at multiple standard chargers at a number of facilities.
(3) Disclose waiting time forecast data for rapid chargers selected for the project, and look into the effects on users' charging behavior Program outline

Low Carbon Technology Research and Development Program

This program is part of the Ministry of the Environment's initiatives to grant private businesses, public research institutes, and universities with commissions or subsidies for the development and verification of technologies that excel in reducing CO2 emissions for more effective measures against global warming in the future.

Features of the technologies developed

1. EV/PHV usage promotion platform
   An integrated data infrastructure developed by Toyota Media Service that gathers information on chargers, promotion of EV/PHP usage, and CO2 reductions resulting from this.
2. National charging station infrastructure map
   A national map that shows electric power charging infrastructure with a high coverage rate, integrating electric power charger data from Toyota Media Service, Toyota Industries, and Nihon Unisys. It also gathers information from Aichi Prefecture and other administrative institutions and related organizations. Android and iOS versions are available. https://www.evphvchargemap.com/Support/
3. Data communication from charger users and owners.
   A data communication function that allows users or owners of electric power chargers to transmit information about the facilities.
4. Electric power control system for multiple-vehicle chargers
   A function developed by Toyota Industries for maintenance of uniform power supply and control of peak supply at charging stations where multiple-vehicle chargers have been installed.
5. Power charging waiting time forecast algorithm
   A function for forecasting future charger waiting times and congestion, based on big data collected by "smart oasisR," an electric power charging infrastructure systems service provided by Nihon Unisys. It aims to alleviate the power charging congestion that is expected to grow with the increase in the number of EVs and PHVs. Nihon Unisys expects to use the know-how gathered from this verification project for the development of various services using the charger waiting time algorithm.