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*Opening photo provided by Cosmo Cosmo Energy Group

Starting efforts to realize a sustainable society

On April 7, 2021, Cosmo Oil Marketing of the Cosmo Energy Group (hereafter, Cosmo EG) launched an EV powered by renewable energy (wind power). We will launch a mobility service for

In order to realize a sustainable society, including the shift to a decarbonized society, as an initiative to promote the creation of new mobility services centered on EVs, we will install quick chargers at service stations throughout the country and is to start an EV car sharing service based on the vehicle.

The quick charger is powered by "Cosmo Denki Business Green", which uses a non-fossil certificate tied to the wind power source of the affiliated Cosmo Eco Power and has virtually zero CO2 emissions. Electric vehicles that use quick chargers can be charged with electricity that emits virtually zero CO2 emissions.

I asked about future plans

Cosmo Oil Marketing is working with e-Mobility Power (hereafter, eMP) to install quick chargers on affiliated SSs. , was announced in June 2020 and was introduced as an article on the EVsmart blog. The announcement this time is that the plan will proceed and installation will start, and the topic of EV car sharing will be added and expanded.

Cosmo Oil Marketing's EV charging service is also explained on the official website. The 4SS in the Tokyo metropolitan area is where the quick chargers for the recently announced e-Mobility Power charging service were installed. In addition, there are four SSs equipped with quick chargers for the "COSMO EV CHARGE" that the company has been independently developing. You cannot use a COSMO EV CHARGE quick charger with an eMP affiliated charging card.

How will the service expand in the future? We asked Cosmo EG about points that cannot be deciphered from the April news release alone.

● eMP installs the quick charger, right?

That's right. eMP will install quick chargers, and the Cosmo Energy Group will use the SS as a charging infrastructure base to provide car care services to EV customers and Cosmo Eco Power, a wholly owned subsidiary of Cosmo Energy Holdings Co., Ltd. We will supply 100% renewable energy. As of May 14, 2021, "Selfpure Shinjuku Chuo" is the target for the supply of real 100% renewable electricity.

●What are your future plans to expand the number of SSs that handle the eMP charging service?

SS SS, which has installed quick chargers that provide eMP charging service through a joint business with eMP, currently has Self Pure Shinjuku Chuo, Self Pure Yatsu (Narashino City, Chiba Prefecture), Self NEW Koto A total of 4 SSs have started operation at SS (Koto-ku, Tokyo) and self-service station Kurami Samukawa (Samukawa-cho, Koza-gun, Kanagawa Prefecture). We plan to continue expanding. By the end of this fiscal year, we plan to complete the installation of more than 30 SSs.

●What is your vision for installation radix and output?

eMP selects the model and specifications of the charger to be installed. Currently, we have 2-type 120 kW (Yatsu) and 1-type 50 kW (Shinjuku Chuo, etc.) installed in our affiliated service stations, and we are moving toward installing 2-types as much as possible. However, the 2-port type is premised on charging 2 vehicles at the same time, so it is necessary to secure parking spaces for 2 vehicles.

●Expansion of supply of 100% renewable electricity?

Currently, we are supplying virtually CO2-free electricity derived from wind power generated by Cosmo Eco Power at one location in Self Pure Shinjuku Chuo.

This SS uses real renewable energy (derived from Cosmo Eco Power wind power generation) not only for the quick charger but also for the entire SS. In addition, our group press release on May 11, "Concerning 100% real renewable energy electrification of all directly managed service stations of the Cosmo Energy Group" (https://com.cosmo-oil.co.jp/press/p_210511/index.html) ), the Group will work on converting all directly operated service stations to real renewable electricity.

●Will you continue with the conventional “COSMO EV CHARGE”?

We plan to continue operating the existing chargers and COSMO EV CHARGE, but we will not install new chargers for this service or expand it.

In addition, there are no plans to switch chargers currently providing COSMO EV CHARGE service to eMP charging service. However, in the future, we will consider replacing and installing chargers through a joint project with eMP when the equipment becomes obsolete.

●Is there a deadline for EV car sharing?

There is no deadline. I plan to continue.

●Will EV car sharing expand in the future?

As a premise, I think that EV car sharing is difficult to operate without a quick charger (because it takes too long to charge with normal charging). Our group is promoting the installation of quick chargers at our affiliated service stations through a tie-up with eMP. We hope to expand our market share. As for the specific goals, we will keep an eye on the situation in Self-Pure Shinjuku Chuo and trends in the spread of EVs and car sharing.

●What kind of power company is Cosmo Eco Power?

Cosmo Eco Power was founded in 1997 as Japan's first company specializing in wind power generation. Since then, we have strived to strengthen our competitiveness by constructing a system that can consistently implement site development, power plant design, construction, operation and maintenance.

● What about electricity retail services for general households?

Since April 2019, we have been developing the electricity retail service “Cosmo Denki” for general households. After that, since October 2020, we have expanded the target to corporate customers and started selling “Cosmo Denki Business”. In order to respond to the growing awareness of customers about environmental issues such as global warming, both individuals and corporations offset CO2 emissions with non-fossil certificates, etc. and provide CO2-free electricity that has environmental value derived from renewable energy. "Cosmo Electric Green" and "Cosmo Electric Business Green" are also available.

●How does 100% renewable power supply work?

We supply virtually CO2-free renewable electricity using non-fossil certificates with tracking (*) derived from the wind power plants of Cosmo Eco Power, a wind power generation company. Self-Pure Shinjuku Chuo (Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo) supplies Cosmo Denki Business Green, and in accordance with the lease on May 11, from now on, all directly managed service stations other than Self-Pure Shinjuku Chuo will also supply Cosmo Denki Business Green. We are planning to supply green. (*) A non-fossil certificate is a certificate that separates the non-fossil value of electricity derived from renewable energy and nuclear power and makes it possible to trade. It is traded on the non-fossil value trading market operated by the Japan Electric Power Exchange. Non-fossil certificates with tracking refer to non-fossil certificates with attribute information such as power source type and power plant location.

●Isn't it possible for other corporations to apply?

Yes, you can. Not limited to our group's SS, general corporate customers can also use it by subscribing to "Cosmo Denki Business Green".

"Cosmo Denki Business Green" is also compatible with RE100. This electric power plan can meet the needs of corporate customers who are becoming more environmentally conscious, such as companies participating in RE100 and RE Action or considering participating.

End of question and answer.

Cosmo EG, the third largest oil wholesaler in the industry. Eneos and Idemitsu Kosan are also working on their own initiatives for electrification of mobility, but I feel that Cosmo EG is also strongly determined to open up a "new path" by leveraging the strengths of its group companies and collaboration with eMP. .

I actually tried fast charging and car sharing

I tried EV car sharing and fast charging at Self Pure Shinjuku Chuo.

EV car sharing is implemented as one model of the service called "Yasashii car sharing" based on the SS that Cosmo Oil Marketing has been developing for a long time. Of course, you need to register as a member in advance, but there is no admission fee or monthly membership fee. Electric vehicles (EV class) can be used at a relatively reasonable price of 800 yen per hour and 4,500 yen for a 6-hour pack. There is a distance charge of 16 yen/km for 12-hour packs or more, but please check the official website for details.

Registration is easy. I sent an image of my driver's license from the official website and applied, and in about 2 hours I received an email saying "Membership registration completed".

Book now. Log in, enter the reservation start and end date and time, and select Self Pure Shinjuku Chuo SS. This reservation screen is a little difficult to use, but I would like to expect improvements in the future.

On the day of use, I parked my Leaf in the underground parking lot of the building next door and experienced using it for an hour. To unlock the door, just hold your driver's license over the reader on the rear window. The 40kWh Leaf had a charge of 96%.

Since the reservation was only for one hour, I ran around Nakano Sakaue, took a light photo as evidence borrowed at Shinjuku Central Park, and returned it. It's so easy and smooth.

I used to be a member of a major car sharing service, but I bought a Leaf and withdrew. After that, while interviewing, Honda's "EveryGo", Nissan's "eSharemobi", private car sharing service "Anyca", Odawara's "eemo", Saitama City's FOMM ONE sharing "HELLOW SCOOTER", etc. I am a member, but like "Yasashii Car Share", there is no admission fee or monthly membership fee (or you can choose to be free).

Personally, I don't really want to rent a car other than an EV. I think I can send it. Each service is limited to each company or local base, so unlike major rental car chains, it does not cover all over the country, but the system that allows you to easily join, make a reservation, and drop off the car on the app or website is spreading. If so, it can also be used as a substitute for a rental car when traveling.

The progress of MaaS is also attracting attention along with the EV shift, but it was an hour that made me realize that society is steadily changing.

The quick charger is Chademo 50kW class

After returning with a shared car, I moved my Leaf from the parking lot of the next building and tried the quick charger. I carelessly forgot to check the manufacturer name and spec sticker, but it is a 50kW output device that I have never used before. eMP has announced that it will develop a high-output quick charging infrastructure with two cables of up to 90 kW from ABB's 120 kW class output device, so this 50 kW device is made by Toko Takaoka. I've never seen a liquid crystal display before, so I think it's a new model that eMP will develop in the future.

Although the LCD display is easy to understand, the card authentication location is below the instructions on the front of the main unit. I didn't notice it at first because it had a monochromatic "IC" mark on it, but when I held the card against the LCD, I was puzzled for a few seconds thinking, "Huh? It won't be authenticated."

By the way, I didn't charge the Leaf that I rented from car sharing this time because it still had more than 90% battery left. It was supposed to be charged with the quick charger in front of me. A Nissan ZESP3 card is also provided in the manual file.

Anyway, the SS charging infrastructure with restrooms and rest areas is still convenient. I have high hopes that Cosmo Oil's challenges will progress further in both chargers and EV car sharing.

(Interview / Text / Yoshinori Yorimoto)