The Combination of Solar Panels and EVs is Key

In the post-3.11 era, new societal models centered on renewable energy are coming into focus. However, natural energies like wind and solar power are inherently unstable, being directly affected by natural phenomena such as weather. This is where EVs and plug-in hybrid cars play a crucial role. This is because, by functioning as high-performance batteries,storage batteriesthey can compensate for the instability of power generation fromrenewable energysources.


For example, schemes that could be called the local production and consumption of energy, where power is generated from renewable sources at the household or building level, stored in batteries, and then shared within the community as needed, are being featured in various media lately. EVs and plug-in hybrid cars (PHVs) are indispensable for realizing such a society.

An Era for Car Enthusiasts to Be Proud Of

Since the appearance of the two gasoline-powered automobiles developed concurrently by Gottlieb Daimler and Karl Benz in 1885, cars have expanded human mobility by enhancing speed and safety. Of course, vehicles designed for mass transportation, such as trucks and buses, have contributed to the efficiency of societal transportation. However, fundamentally, cars have been devices to satisfy the desires of the individual. Whether it was the advent of the T-model Ford, or technological innovations like the monocoque body, ABS, direct injection engines, and clean diesel, these were merely enabling technologies for that purpose.


In contrast, in a new society centered on renewable energy, cars will, as storage batteries, play a part in supplying electrical energy. In other words, cars will acquire sociality in a sense distinct from transportation. While the current era may make car enthusiasts feel somewhat self-conscious about the environmental impact, such as greenhouse gas emissions, in such a society, even owning multiple cars could be considered a social act. This is because the more batteries there are, the greater the storage capacity, and the more electrical energy can be returned to society. Is this not a groundbreaking development that can be called a 'revolution' in automotive history?

Bring on the SNV Era!

Incidentally, services that allow each of us to interactively exchange information as media, such as Twitter and Facebook, are called Social Network Services (SNS). At OPENERS, we refer to next-generation EVs and hybrid cars that serve as part of the energy infrastructure, as part of society's information network, asSNVs (Social Network Vehicles)and are committed, as a web magazine, to realizing this automotive revolution as soon as possible.

Of course, it is also true that numerous challenges must be overcome, such as the liberalization of electricity trading, improvements in power generation efficiency from renewable energy, and the development of a highly information-integrated power grid. However, we believe that the proliferation of SNVs will promote the realization of the new society that we, living in the post-3.11 era, should aim for.