The city of Saitama in Japan is teaming up with one of the country’s leading car manufacturers in a bid to fight global warming and realise a sustainable, low carbon society with electric vehicles.
Honda has joined forces with the city on the E-KIZUNA project, which will test the use of urban electric vehicles, plug-in hybrid vehicles and electric scooters with Honda also planning to test its Honda Smart Home System in the city next year – a comprehensive energy management system.
The Honda Smart Home System provides heat and electricity for the home and produces power for electric mobility. Honda also hopes to explore the system’s potential to produce electricity for the household in the event of a disaster.
Its overall aim is to reduce household CO2 emissions to half of 2000 levels by 2015. In particular it will focus on: creating a disaster-resistant city of the future through a variety of energy supplies and electric mobility; constructing an electric charging safety net; simulating demand and applying incentives such as promoting the shared use of electric scooters for commercial use; and tailoring education initiatives to local needs.
In addition, Honda has announced that it will begin sales of an all-new household micro combined heat and power gas engine cogeneration unit through gas utilities across Japan, this month. It will serve as the core unit of a household cogeneration system and burn natural or liquid propane gas to generate electricity and heat water.
