Under this MOU, Agile Energy X will contribute to the creation of a carbon-neutral society and the alleviation of power grid congestion through the development of distributed data centers throughout Japan that hybridize surplus power from renewable energy sources and TRIPLE-1's cutting-edge semiconductors.
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Agile Energy X, TRIPLE-1, TEPCO Power Grid to implement distributed computing.
Under this MOU, Agile Energy X will contribute to the creation of a carbon-neutral society and the alleviation of power grid congestion through the development of distributed data centers throughout Japan that hybridize surplus power from renewable energy sources and TRIPLE-1's cutting-edge semiconductors.
"Distributed computing" via a combination of "Renewable energy and cutting-edge semiconductors"
"Distributed computing" is an advanced technology in which numerous data centers (facilities that house IT equipment, including servers used for data processing) are set up throughout the country to carry out the arithmetic processing of large amounts of digital data, and by coupling them and operating them in parallel, these data centers function collectively as one massive computer system. "Distributed computing" is said to be an indispensable system for our next-generation digital society.
There is a need to develop these distributed data centers, which are located in a decentralized manner, especially in Japan due to its high frequency of natural disasters.
At the same time, along with the growing interest in environmental and energy-related issues around the world, equipping data centers with "energy-saving capabilities" has also become a major task. To this end, it is essential for us to take action to reduce power consumption, energy costs, and carbon dioxide emissions. In addition, there is a need to optimize the power grid as we attempt to make effective use of renewable energy for data center operations.
In view of this, Agile Energy X, TRIPLE-1 and TEPCO Power Grid have entered into this MOU with the aim of developing future distributed data centers that integrate "Tokyo Electric Power Company's power transmission and distribution network" with the "surplus power generated from renewable energy sources nationwide" and "TRIPLE-1's cutting-edge energy-saving semiconductors" under a project that will be spearheaded by Agile Energy X and deployed in various locations throughout Japan (hereinafter, "this Project").
Making effective use of "surplus power" from renewable energy sources
For instance, in the case of solar power, supply can easily exceed demand when power generation is concentrated on days with good weather, and the electric power generated cannot be used up. The amount of curtailment for such renewable energy sources has been rising nationwide in recent years, while it has also become difficult to interconnect renewable energy in some places due to power grid congestion. As a result, some national estimates (*3) suggest that Japan has the potential to generate up to twice the amount of electric power it currently generates by renewable energy.
The purpose of this Project is to make effective use of surplus power based on the concept of "local production for local consumption" by creating new demand for data centers and other facilities, rather than disposing of surplus power generated in excess of the existing demand or forcing the surplus power to flow into power lines and cause power grid congestion.
As a demonstration project for this Project, a data center with 1,300 computing systems (some of which are equipped with TRIPLE-1's "KAMIKAZE") has already been set up on the premises of TEPCO Power Grid's business site in the Tokyo metropolitan area. Experiments aimed at exploring system behavior and the impact on the power grid when the facility is operated with a large amount of power on the scale of 1,500kW have begun to be conducted, with results showing that the facility can operate normally.
Toward its implementation in smart cities, automated driving, and the metaverse
For instance, in order to make automated driving a reality, the AI must process in real time and at high speed not only the vehicle's driving data but also large amounts of big data from the surrounding environment and other vehicles. This will be handled by distributed data centers that are based throughout the country. Moreover, CG rendering for running advanced graphics is necessary to reproduce a realistic world in the metaverse, a process that can also be handled by distributed data centers. Cryptocurrency mining and genome analysis are examples of other operations that can utilize these data centers.
In Japan, distributed computing powered by renewable energy is also expected to allow local governments to promote carbon-neutral (decarbonization) initiatives, support the growth of profits for renewable energy providers, facilitate the local production for local consumption of energy, as well as revitalize local economies.
(*2) Surplus power: Electric power that is wasted without being utilized in order to achieve a balance between power supply and demand or as a result of power grid congestion
(*3) Overview of section on introducing renewable energies in the Ministry of Environment’s “Japan’s Potential to Utilize Renewable Energy (tentative title)” report (in Japanese only)
https://www.renewable-energy-potential.env.go.jp/RenewableEnergy/doc/gaiyou3.pdf
(*4) Source: Global Information, Inc., Market Research Report
Company Profiles
Agile Energy X, Inc.
Representatives | Kenji Tateiwa, Chief Executive Officer |
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Corporate Headquarter | 2-16-5, Konan, Minato-ku, Tokyo, Japan |
Established | August 26, 2022 |
The capital | 350 million yen (including the capital reserve) |
Primary businesses | Conversion of electric power into digital value by utilizing distributed energy resource facilities (container-type distributed computing equipment and blockchain technology-based cryptocurrency mining equipment) that can be quickly and flexibly installed and operated in response to power supply and demand and grid congestion in a manner that contributes to the effective utilization of clean energy resources, including unused renewable energy, and power grid optimization, as well as planning, research, studies, development, production, operation, maintenance, sales, consulting, etc., involving related cutting-edge solutions |
Website | https://agileenergyx.co.jp/ |
Contact information | info@agileenergyx.co.jp |
TEPCO Power Grid, Inc.
Representatives | Yoshinori Kaneko, President |
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Corporate Headquarter | 1-1-3 Uchisaiwai-cho, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo, Japan |
Established | April 1, 2015 |
The capital | 80 billion yen |
Primary businesses | General power transmission and distribution, real estate leasing, and power generation on remote islands |
Website | https://www.tepco.co.jp/pg/ |
Contact information | +81-3-6373-1111 (main) |
Regarding this press release
e-mail:info@triple-1.com