Toshiba's Italian Subsidiary Signs Smart Grid Systems Contract from Gruppo ACEA

Toshiba, a provider of electronics and power management systems, announced that Ansaldo Transmissione & Distribuzione S.p.A (Ansaldo T&D), its power systems subsidiary in Italy, has clinched a contract to supply products for a smart grid system to ACEA Distribuzione S.p.A (Gruppo ACEA) in Rome.

The deal involves supply of electric vehicles (EV); 10kW photovoltaic (PV) power generation system; a 45kWh SCiB, Toshiba's rechargeable lithium-ion battery; and the overall system monitoring and control unit (uEMS) to ACEA Distribuzione.

Toshiba will install this equipment in December 2011 and is expected to be on-line by the end of spring next year.

The company will deploy these systems at Raffineria, an ACEA substation in Rome. The systems are expected to provide an integrated solution for generating, storing and delivering electricity to charge EVs.

These charging stations offer significant benefits for smart grids and the next-generation smart community concept for interactive power generation and distribution, according to a press statement from the company.

The deal is expected to strengthen Toshiba Group’s plans to expand in Europe and to closely support ACEA's smart grid system development plans.

Such deals offer big opportunities for Toshiba as the smart grid market will grow to $71.8 billion. While the original smart grid business is a platform for power system networks, the latest trend is a shift to a higher-concept, “Smart Community” – in which diverse infrastructure systems, including energy, water, transportation, and ICT, deliver comprehensive solutions to consumers.

 Recently, Toshiba announced its agreement to acquire Landis+Gyr, a Swiss electronic-metering company, for $2.3 billion. This purchase will substantially enhance the scope of Toshiba’s Smart Grid and Smart Community businesses and position the company as a global competitor with world-class capabilities.