54
Refrigerators and air conditioners once used CFC as a refrigerant. Refrigerant is
indispensable for pumping in and pumping out heat, but CFC has been problematic,
as it is an ozone depleting substance. Japan has succeeded in replacing it with CO 2 .
Ene-Farm is more technically advanced. Technologies for extracting hydrogen
from LP gas and ceramics technology, which is indispensable for fuel cells, can be
considered an area where Japan has expertise, and their elemental technologies are
refined day by day. Products that are close to power generation efficiency of 45%
will probably come out soon.
Ene-Farm, which uses solid oxide fuel cells, generates electricity at a high temperature of about 700 degrees (Celsius), so power generation efficiency is high, and
it is 52% in Osaka Gas products. Ceramics is used in this type of fuel cells, and
technologies in which Japan excels are utilized.
EcoCute and Ene-Farm use heat for hot water supply. Hot water storage tanks
made in Japan have higher performance than overseas products. There are similar
products in the U.S., but the final energy efficiency is inferior due to low thermal
insulation performances of the tanks, and they are not widespread. Hot water supply
accounts for slightly less than 30% of the energy consumption of households and
business divisions. Even if you look at the world as a whole, the demand for hot
water for taking a shower or bath is quite large. This reduction in energy consumption
greatly contributes to the improvement of energy efficiency and low carbonization.
3.3.7 Globalize Japanese Environmental Technologies
Japan, which leads the world in heat pump technologies in the fields of air conditioning and hot water supply, should contribute to the world’s low carbonization
with these advanced technologies, and at the same time, this should also lead to
Japan’s economic growth. Among Japanese companies, Daikin Industries, which is
at the forefront of such technologies and boasts the world’s largest share in the field
of air conditioning, has placed global strategy as the pillar of its corporate management. The key points of the company’s success can be summarized into the following three points.
1. “Open Technology Strategy” – Strategy for Promotion of Energy-Saving
Air Conditioners through Inverters -
Daikin Industries developed an “Open Technology Strategy” for expanding the
inverter air conditioner market by providing inverter technology, which is the essential part of the company’s technology, to Gree Electric Appliances, the company
with the largest share in China. As a result, in China’s air-conditioner market, the
ratio of inverters, which is about 30% more energy-saving compared to non-inverter
machines, has rapidly expanded, and the wave of inverterization is spreading
throughout Asia.
3 Technology to Support Low-Carbon Society (Using Energy)
Refrigerators and air conditioners once used CFC as a refrigerant. Refrigerant is
indispensable for pumping in and pumping out heat, but CFC has been problematic,
as it is an ozone depleting substance. Japan has succeeded in replacing it with CO 2 .
Ene-Farm is more technically advanced. Technologies for extracting hydrogen
from LP gas and ceramics technology, which is indispensable for fuel cells, can be
considered an area where Japan has expertise, and their elemental technologies are
refined day by day. Products that are close to power generation efficiency of 45%
will probably come out soon.
Ene-Farm, which uses solid oxide fuel cells, generates electricity at a high temperature of about 700 degrees (Celsius), so power generation efficiency is high, and
it is 52% in Osaka Gas products. Ceramics is used in this type of fuel cells, and
technologies in which Japan excels are utilized.
EcoCute and Ene-Farm use heat for hot water supply. Hot water storage tanks
made in Japan have higher performance than overseas products. There are similar
products in the U.S., but the final energy efficiency is inferior due to low thermal
insulation performances of the tanks, and they are not widespread. Hot water supply
accounts for slightly less than 30% of the energy consumption of households and
business divisions. Even if you look at the world as a whole, the demand for hot
water for taking a shower or bath is quite large. This reduction in energy consumption
greatly contributes to the improvement of energy efficiency and low carbonization.
3.3.7 Globalize Japanese Environmental Technologies
Japan, which leads the world in heat pump technologies in the fields of air conditioning and hot water supply, should contribute to the world’s low carbonization
with these advanced technologies, and at the same time, this should also lead to
Japan’s economic growth. Among Japanese companies, Daikin Industries, which is
at the forefront of such technologies and boasts the world’s largest share in the field
of air conditioning, has placed global strategy as the pillar of its corporate management. The key points of the company’s success can be summarized into the following three points.
1. “Open Technology Strategy” – Strategy for Promotion of Energy-Saving
Air Conditioners through Inverters -
Daikin Industries developed an “Open Technology Strategy” for expanding the
inverter air conditioner market by providing inverter technology, which is the essential part of the company’s technology, to Gree Electric Appliances, the company
with the largest share in China. As a result, in China’s air-conditioner market, the
ratio of inverters, which is about 30% more energy-saving compared to non-inverter
machines, has rapidly expanded, and the wave of inverterization is spreading
throughout Asia.
3 Technology to Support Low-Carbon Society (Using Energy)