Heading for a 24h/day working system that lasts for more than 10 years 

Significant percentage of people in the world are said to live without the benefit of electricity, resulting in expanding disparity in information competence among developing and developed countries.

The "Energy 24 project" started with the aim to expeditiously fill in this gap. While developing distributed energy systems supporting local conditions, we are concurrently investigating on a viable billing model to enhance swift proliferation of the system.

Project Concept

Our goal is to support 24 hours/day non-stop energy supply with a system that would last for more than 10 years. We hope to contribute in upgrading local lifestyles supported by electricity.

System Target

1. Use of Natural Energy
Building local energy infrastructure can be very costly and time consuming. We cannot ignore the amount of energy lost in the distribution either. We are heading to build a distributed system that uses natural energy, as opposed to centralized systems, and to expand power penetration in the developing countries. We foresee that this approach in power supply would be vital in the developed countries as well in the future.

2. Long and stable power supply
Our system is based on long life batteries which will prevent blackouts caused by frequent battery exchanges due to deterioration. It will be small in size, and very easy to use in all environments.

3. High effective power supply system
Our system can effectively charge power from non-stable natural sources, while suppressing own use of energy. We aim to develop applications based on DC for education and healthcare as well.

4. Viable business model
We aim to build a billing model to enhance swift proliferation of the system.

Energy 24 Prototypes

40Wh/80Wh model

It is a compact model comprising of a solar charger, controller, and battery cell. It takes only 1 to 2 hours (depending on the model)  to fully charge it. Power can be used while charging.

320Wh model

Larger system that can be charged through both solar panels (natural energy sources) and AC-grid. It supports stable electricity supply even when supply from the grid is unstable.  Target users include schools and hospitals.

Project History

Sony CSL has been conducting public viewings in non-electrified areas in Africa since 2010 jointly with JICA (Japan International Cooperation Agency) and JOICFP (Japanese Organization for International Cooperation in Family Planning).

FIFA World Cup matches were shown in villages in northern Ghana with our DC-based system. The system was later awarded the 4th Monozukuri Nippon Award in 2012 from METI (Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry). 

Since then the number of public viewings has exceeded 35 times (as of 2016).

Acknowledgements (Sony Group):
Sony Corporation, Sony India Pvt.Ltd., Sony Electronics Asia Pacific Pte.Ltd., Sony Mobile Communications Inc., Sony Energy Devices Corporation, Sony Engineering Corporation.