Energy-as-a-service solution uses the IoT

Business news | February 24, 2017

By Rich Pell

Energy Harvesting Boards & Embedded Cards Wireless Communications Sensing / Conditioning Power Management Batteries / Power Supplies Data Acquisition Automotive

The offering will provide an efficient way to intelligently measure, monitor and maintain energy infrastructure for mobile operators and tower companies by using big data-based analytics, energy management software and lithium ion battery energy storage without having to own and manage the energy infrastructure.

The two companies says this will reduce the total cost of ownership for energy equipment by up to 20 percent, primarily driven by longer battery life and fewer maintenance site visits resulting in higher network availability.

Using the ‘as-a-service’ model in the same way as Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) means up-front investment is not needed and the overall environmental impact is reduced through longer product life, replacement of lead in batteries and reduced need for transport. Panasonic manufacturers high capacity lithium ion cells and photovoltaic cells in volume for Tesla and network power would be a suitable place for both the PV cells and the battery cells that are no longer viable for electric vehicles.

“Effective energy is a major focus area for all of our customers and we are always looking for opportunities to reduce carbon emissions. Energy-as-a-service is a new business model that is designed to make energy operations more efficient, smarter and more sustainable. We believe our strategic relationship with Panasonic will deliver significant benefits to our customers in terms of OPEX savings and contribute to an overall improved experience for their customers, resulting from a higher level of network reliability,” said Bradley Mead, Head of Managed Services and Network Design Optimization at Ericsson.

Ericsson will be responsible for products and services though its Integrated Operations Centre, focusing initially on its managed services customers. Panasonic will be responsible for the energy architecture and underlying battery technolgy and support solution orchestration backing up the service.

“We are excited to closely collaborate with Ericsson on smart, sustainable energy-as-a-service solutions, using the companies’ respective strengths in telecommunications and energy solutions,” said Jim Doyle, president of Panasonic Enterprise Solutions, a division of Panasonic Corporation of North America.

“This solution reduces total cost of ownership and energy consumption while improving system resilience and connectivity uptime, benefitting mobile operators and tower companies as well as their customers. In addition, telecommunications forms the backbone that supports not just IoT generally but also responsive infrastructure for smart cities specifically, including the smart city solutions being deployed by Panasonic.”

The companies will collaborate to further customise the service for utility, transport and public safety customers, and support the migration toward smarter and more sustainable cities.

www.ericsson.com