The University of Tokyo (UTokyo), Toyota Motor Corporation, and TRENDE Inc., will jointly conduct tests from 17 June at Toyota’s Higashifuji Technical Center and the surrounding area, on a next-generation peer-to-peer electricity system (P2P electricity transactions) that enables homes, businesses, and electrified vehicles connected to the electricity grid to trade electricity using blockchain.

As distributed power supplies such as solar panels, secondary batteries, and electrified vehicles become increasingly widespread, Japan’s electricity supply system is in a transitional state as it shifts from its traditional large-scale consolidated system to a distributed system by which individuals and businesses own their own power supply.

The objective of the test is to verify the economic advantage of having prosumers, who generate electricity with their own distributed power supply, trade electricity with electricity consumers, via an electricity exchange market, at prices that reflect supply and demand conditions, and to assess the feasibility of a two-way, self-autonomous electricity supply system that allows direct trading with other prosumers.

Specific steps of the test include the establishment of an electricity exchange accessible by households and businesses participating in the test, and the installation of an AI-powered electricity management system (an electricity trading agent) in each household and business.

The electricity trading agent places orders to buy and sell electricity in an electricity exchange based on electrical consumption and forecasts of electrical power to be generated by solar panels at households and businesses. Electricity transactions between individuals are implemented using a defined algorithm that matches buy and sell orders that are collected in the electricity exchange from each household and business.

This is the world’s first test for electricity trading between individuals that incorporates PHEVs as a distributed power supply, in addition to solar panels and secondary batteries. The test aims to verify the economic advantage of having electricity consumers and prosumers trade electricity through market transactions. It will also simulate electricity consignment fees based on distance, and verify an algorithm for predicting the electricity demands of electrified vehicles, which have varying electrical consumption levels based on cruising range.

The test design includes two types of electricity consumers (owners and non-owners of PHEVs) and four types of prosumers (owners of only solar panels; owners of solar panels and secondary batteries; owners of solar panels and a PHEV; and owners of solar panels, secondary batteries, and a PHEV).

Diagram of the Concept

1. Bidding information from each household, business, and PHEV is consolidated at the electricity exchange.

2. The electricity exchange completes transactions by matching sell and buy conditions.

3. The traded electricity is implemented over the power distribution and transmission grid according to the completed transaction.