Aboitiz Power Corp. said Monday it signed a memorandum of understanding to lead a Philippines-Japan consortium that will explore technology development and integrated system for potential projects in renewable energy.
The move will help address the grid stability issues caused by the greater prominence of renewable energy in the energy mix, according to Aboitiz Power.
Aboitiz Power signed an agreement with Kawasaki Heavy Industries Ltd., IKS Co. Ltd. and Amber Kinetics in Japan where the parties will leverage their respective new-generation technologies and expertise to optimize RE development while contributing to energy cost savings and grid stability.
This may lead to further exploration and expansion beyond the Philippines to ASEAN, Japan and Australia.
“With this consortium, the Philippines and Japan can make a significant impact on our transition towards a more sustainable future. Our partnerships represent a powerful alliance that will drive technological innovation and harness the power of renewable energy to create a brighter future for generations to come,” said Aboitiz Power chairman Sabin Aboitiz.
Aboitiz signed the MOU on Friday together with Kawasaki senior managing executive officer and president of energy solution and marine engineering Tatsuya Watanabe, IKS president Takashi Imai and Amber Kinetics chief executive Edgar Chua.
The consortium also expressed optimism in exploring opportunities and making a positive impact on the local and regional energy landscape.
Kawasaki uses virtual synchronous generator technology which mimics the operation characteristics of traditional synchronous generators that result in a more stabilized grid frequency.
“I trust Virtual Synchronous Method will be a breakthrough solution to the problem. We are excited to work with Amber Kinetics, IKS and Aboitiz Group, and look forward to working together to deliver advanced technologies that would help the Philippines transition to more renewable energy,” Watanabe said.
Kawasaki plans to engage in businesses with inverters, flywheel energy storage systems and power generating and distribution companies.
It will establish an integrated system that will enable ancillary services applications that provide grid stability in consonance with renewable energies, power generation and turbines as a distributed energy resource and by cooperating with other parties in micro-grids.
Kawasaki will be joined by fellow Japanese firm IKS with its cutting-edge power control system and I_DENCON technology inverters.
IKS aims to co-develop an integrated system that will easily allow other devices to connect and function seamlessly.
Alongside them will be Amber Kinetics, a Silicon Valley firm that has developed long-duration FESS technology, which converts electricity into kinetic energy stored in the mass of spinning flywheels. It wants to further develop integrated energy solutions for its applications.