Murata Manufacturing and the Nanyang Technological University (NTU Singapore) signed a Research Collaboration Agreement this month. This marks Murata’s entry into the EcoCampus research program, led by the Energy Research Institute at NTU (ERI@N).

The NTU Singapore’s EcoCampus initiative is a novel campus-wide sustainability framework with demonstration sites to achieve 35% reduction in energy, water, and waste intensity by 2020, transforming the university campus into one of the most environmentally friendly university campuses in the world. This research collaboration enables Murata to test, demonstrate, and further develop the company's Smart Energy Management System installed in various areas of the campus buildings. The project is expected to span over two years.

Mr Leow Thiam Seng, Director of JTC Corporation’s Aerospace, Marine and CleanTech Cluster, said, “JTC is pleased to support ERI@N and Murata in their latest research collaboration at CleanTech Park, which provides a unique ‘living laboratory’ environment for the development of building and estate-level cleantech solutions. We look forward to having more businesses and research institutes demonstrate, generate and test-bed new sustainable urban solutions at this epicentre of cleantech research and innovation.”

Configuration and Benefits of Murata's Smart Energy Management System

Murata’s Smart Energy Management System, installed since 2013 in the Smart Cell project in Yokohama, Japan, integrates DC renewables (like solar PV and fuel cell), storage battery and grid power into one system, and intelligently manages the distribution of energy in various circumstances. The system is able to operate autonomously by deciding how to distribute grid power and electricity from solar PV or storage batteries to household appliances, and control energy allocation through bidirectional DC-AC inverters and bidirectional DC-DC converters.

The Smart Energy Management System offers multiple benefits including:

• improved grid stability for the integration of intermittent renewable energy,
• increased self-sufficiency by better integration of usage of fuel cell and renewable energy, and
• innovative demand response model.

Smart Energy Management System Specifications

Photovoltaic cells, storage batteries, grid power, and other potential power source, are integrated as a system to enable bidirectional energy control, exchange, and monitoring.

Electrical specifications

• Rated output: 3 kW (grid-tie and autonomous operation)
• 2-channel input (2 channels for PV, or 1 channel for PV and 1 channel for fuel cells or other DC input in the future)
• Storage batteries: 2 kWh

Functions

• Grid power support by peak cut and peak shift, including autonomous operation during a power outage
• Intelligent energy system that can respond flexibly to all circumstances (in consideration of future systems too)
• Makes electricity consumption and photovoltaic cell output visible and uses cloud data (weather forecasts, etc.)