Gifu University and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Thermal Systems Form Joint Research Program Partnership

- Focus on Smart Grid Power Control Engineering -

TOKYO, Dec 20, 2017 - (JCN Newswire) - Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Thermal Systems Co., Ltd. (MHI Thermal Systems) has become the first partner in a new scheme by Gifu University to initiate joint research in partnership with the industrial sector. The university concluded an agreement with MHI which will focus on joint-research into smart grid power control engineering.

Background to the New Program The latest program was established in April 2017. It has been developed to ensure that research and instruction is maintained on an ongoing basis, and that courses for specific areas of engineering and manufacturing are established. Under the new scheme, research topics are selected that match the businesses providing course funding, and ownership of any resulting intellectual property is made available to the sources of the endowment.

Future Smart Grid Research With the increased adoption of solar and other natural energy sources in the years ahead, there is concern about the difficulty of maintaining an instantaneous supply/demand balance in power networks. In addition to solutions such as the use of storage batteries, new technologies are expected to help maintain the balance in the smart grids of the future by means of power control systems that cover users spread across a wide area.

One promising candidate, from the perspective of power consumption volume and operating flexibility, is air-conditioning in large office buildings. The key futureoriented technology here is precision control of the power consumption of an enormous number of airconditioning units installed across a wide area, while ensuring constant comfort.

Objectives of the Joint Research Study Course MHI Thermal Systems has a long history in multi-system air-conditioning technologies for office buildings, while Gifu University's Next-Generation Energy Research Center has a strong track record in researching smart grids and air-conditioning power demand. In preparation for the coming era of smart grids, the two partners will collaborate in developing technologies for achieving air-conditioning power control optimal for both networks and users.

By integrating the open ideas fostered within the university and the practical experience of a leading manufacturer, the two partners will aim for a collaborative system capable of bridging the gap between research and application. A further objective of the new course program will be to educate graduate students--including doctoral candidates and foreign students in doctoral programs--to ensure that tomorrow's engineers are thoroughly well versed in airconditioning systems and smart grids.

About Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Ltd.

Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Ltd. (MHI), headquartered in Tokyo, is one of the world's leading industrial firms with 80,000 group employees and annual consolidated revenues of around 38 billion U.S. dollars. For more than 130 years, the company has channeled big thinking into innovative and integrated solutions that move the world forward. MHI owns a unique business portfolio covering land, sea, sky and even space. MHI delivers innovative and integrated solutions across a wide range of industries from commercial aviation and transportation to power plants and gas turbines, and from machinery and infrastructure to integrated defense and space systems.
For more information, please visit the MHI Group website: http://www.mhi-global.com.
For Technology, Trends and Tangents, visit MHI's new online media SPECTRA: http://spectra.mhi.com.

Source: Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Ltd.

Contact:

Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Ltd.
Joseph Hood, PR Manager
Email: mhi-pr@mhi.co.jp
Tel: +81-(0)3-6716-2168
Fax: +81-(0)3-6716-5860

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