Receiving the Minister Prize of Economic, Trade and Industry in the Energy Conservation Grand Prize for excellent energy conservation equipment

Chubu Electric Power received the Minister Prize of Economic, Trade and Industry, the highest honor in the Energy Conservation Division of the FY2018 Energy Conservation Grand Prize for excellent energy conservation equipment (hosted by the Energy Conservation Center, Japan) together with Toyota Motor Corporation (Headquarters: Toyota-shi; President and Representative Director: Akio Toyoda; hereinafter "Toyota Motor Corporation") and Yutaka Electronics Industry Company Limited (Headquarters: Kariya-shi; President and CEO: Takafumi Morita; hereinafter "Yutaka Electronics Industry") for "Energy Conservation Through Rapid Heating of Thermoplastic CFRP (Note) Using Superheated Steam".

(Note) CFRP: Carbon Fiber Reinforced Plastics

The Energy Conservation Grand Prize for excellent energy conservation equipment awards advanced energy conservation equipment based on excellent energy conservation initiatives and technology development. This is our first time receiving the Minister Prize of Economic, Trade and Industry in the Energy Conservation Grand Prize for excellent energy conservation equipment.

This award recognizes our efforts in conserving energy while increasing productivity by researching heating methods, introducing equipment that uses superheated steam, and checking quality in the CFRP heating process. This is especially relevant as CFRP use is expected to increase in the industrial realm.

Chubu Electric Power is expanding the "Development-integrated solutions" program in which we participate starting from the development stage of our customers' production line to solve increasingly diverse challenges accompanying the sophistication of Monozukuri.

We will continue to live up to our customers' expectations, delivering solutions that capture our customers' various needs starting with our "Development-integrated solutions".

[Overview of the Achievement Receiving the Minister Prize of Economic, Trade and Industry]

Title

"Energy Conservation Through Rapid Heating of Thermoplastic CFRP Using Superheated Steam"

Winners

Toyota Motor Corporation, Chubu Electric Power, Yutaka Electronics Industry

Relevant Plant

Toyota Motor Corporation, Motomachi Plant

Overview of the Achievement

• We have jointly developed and implemented a hybrid heating method combining superheated steam and electric heaters for the CFRP heating process to manufacture fuel-cell vehicle parts at the Toyota Motor Corporation Motomachi Plant.
• This hybrid heating method reduces energy usage by 77% and heating time by 69% compared to conventional heating methods using electric heaters.