79
tion at home and EV 70% of the respondents became energy self-sufficient. In other
words, the possibility of self-sufficiency of household and transport energy has
come into perspective.
The market price of HEMS is around ¥200,000. Although there are some differences depending on the accompanying function, even the inexpensive systems
exceed ¥100,000. Considering that personal computers and tablet devices can be
purchased even at around tens of thousands of yen, the current cost of HEMS is too
expensive. This is largely because companies try to recover development costs in
the early stages of dissemination.
However, there are also successful product examples such as heat-tech products
by UNIQLO and Toray’s partnership which realized a speedup of product dissemination by pricing based on mass dissemination to the market from the beginning.
This was made possible by collaboration between a large-scale production process
that realizes low cost and a large-scale sales network that sells at a low price
(Table 4.5).
The dissemination of HEMS is one of the keys to creating a low-carbon society.
Companies should have the courage to consider the supply system and develop pricing based on the premise that they will be mass disseminated from the beginning.
4.2.3 Japan Should Compete with High-Added-Value Items
Let’s think about the costs that are the key to the dissemination of products and
services from another angle.
Table 4.6 shows the selling price and the partial cost per weight of the products
that are used daily. Most of the weight of products is made up of basic materials
such as steel, aluminum, glass, and plastic. The cost of the materials is about ¥0.1 to
¥0.2 per gram. The selling price of mass-produced home appliances such as electric
fans, washing machines, and refrigerators is about 5 to 10 times the cost of the materials. The price of light cars and trucks is only five times to ten times as much as the
cost of the materials.
The closer the material cost and the selling price, the lower the added value.
From this point of view, solar cell modules are becoming commodity products like
fans and trucks, and it is clear that price competition is intense.
Li-ion batteries are also considered to be more expensive than other storage batteries, but in terms of weight unit price, there is no major difference from dry batteries. Therefore, Sony and Nissan decided to withdraw from the Li-ion battery
Table 4.5 Reducing heating energy to 1/12
Coefficient of performance of air conditioners
Before 1990
1997
2004
2006
2010
Vision 2050
Theoretical value
3
4
5
6
7
12
43
Source: “The Revitalization for Japan”
4.2 Innovations Emerging from Theory and IT
tion at home and EV 70% of the respondents became energy self-sufficient. In other
words, the possibility of self-sufficiency of household and transport energy has
come into perspective.
The market price of HEMS is around ¥200,000. Although there are some differences depending on the accompanying function, even the inexpensive systems
exceed ¥100,000. Considering that personal computers and tablet devices can be
purchased even at around tens of thousands of yen, the current cost of HEMS is too
expensive. This is largely because companies try to recover development costs in
the early stages of dissemination.
However, there are also successful product examples such as heat-tech products
by UNIQLO and Toray’s partnership which realized a speedup of product dissemination by pricing based on mass dissemination to the market from the beginning.
This was made possible by collaboration between a large-scale production process
that realizes low cost and a large-scale sales network that sells at a low price
(Table 4.5).
The dissemination of HEMS is one of the keys to creating a low-carbon society.
Companies should have the courage to consider the supply system and develop pricing based on the premise that they will be mass disseminated from the beginning.
4.2.3 Japan Should Compete with High-Added-Value Items
Let’s think about the costs that are the key to the dissemination of products and
services from another angle.
Table 4.6 shows the selling price and the partial cost per weight of the products
that are used daily. Most of the weight of products is made up of basic materials
such as steel, aluminum, glass, and plastic. The cost of the materials is about ¥0.1 to
¥0.2 per gram. The selling price of mass-produced home appliances such as electric
fans, washing machines, and refrigerators is about 5 to 10 times the cost of the materials. The price of light cars and trucks is only five times to ten times as much as the
cost of the materials.
The closer the material cost and the selling price, the lower the added value.
From this point of view, solar cell modules are becoming commodity products like
fans and trucks, and it is clear that price competition is intense.
Li-ion batteries are also considered to be more expensive than other storage batteries, but in terms of weight unit price, there is no major difference from dry batteries. Therefore, Sony and Nissan decided to withdraw from the Li-ion battery
Table 4.5 Reducing heating energy to 1/12
Coefficient of performance of air conditioners
Before 1990
1997
2004
2006
2010
Vision 2050
Theoretical value
3
4
5
6
7
12
43
Source: “The Revitalization for Japan”
4.2 Innovations Emerging from Theory and IT