
Driivz has been selected by the Ennet Corporation (Ennet), a leading specified-scale electricity utility in Japan under the NTT Group, to bring smart EV charging services to the country. The project will enable Ennet to pursue new business opportunities in the area of smart energy.
Currently, EVs only account for 0.5% of all new cars sold in Japan. However, several Japanese automakers are preparing to launch electric models in the next couple of years which is expected to increase the adoption of EVs in the country.
Ennet plans to lead Japan’s transition to e-mobility and has developed a smart charging service called EnneEV for local governments and companies to help achieve this vision. It has commissioned Driivz to deliver its advanced energy management tools as part of EnneEV. Driivz will provide its SmartChain Energy Manager and operations management modules to Ennet, while EV drivers will receive access to a white-labelled app in their native Japanese language.
By integrating elements of Driivz’s EV charging management platform into its smart charging service, Ennet will be able to analyse the power usage patterns of its customers, identify when energy grids receive the least demand for charging and make sure fleets are sufficiently charged for use the following day. Functionality to remotely start and stop charging will also be enabled.
Driivz is an operating system for global EV charging. The company’s cloud-based platform supports over 120 types of EV chargers and includes billing capability, roaming interoperability and self-healing functionality. The Driivz platform is also vehicle-to grid enabled, allowing EV drivers to act as virtual power plants by becoming suppliers, receiving compensation and reducing energy consumption.
Based in Tel Aviv, Israel, Driivz’s team of EV experts are working for customers in 17 countries. The company already counts global industry players such as EVgo, ElaadNL, ESB and Centrica as customers, while it manages some of the largest public EV charging networks in North America and Europe. In total, tens of thousands of EV chargers are linked to Driivz’s platform, which is also used by more than 300,000 EV drivers.
Doron Frenkel, Founder and CEO of Driivz, said:
We are impressed with Ennet and its mother company NTT’s anode energy vision of creating a greener environment for the people in Japan. Our vast experience and advanced smart energy management technology allow us to assist Ennet with integrating EV charging into the ecosystem of local power generation, batteries and demand response solutions.
Yuji Kawagoe, President of Ennet, added:
We have been using the latest technology and artificial intelligence to provide energy efficiency services and data analysis for a number of years, so moving into smart charging is a logical step on our business journey. We are looking forward to working with Driivz and its internationally-proven system, which is already managing tens of thousands of EV chargers in the North American and European markets.