Sony Makes DC Microgrid Software Open Source

Source: Emiliano Bellini · SMART ENERGY INTERNATIONAL · | December 2, 2020

Sony is making available its DC microgrid Autonomous Power Interchange System (APIS) software module freely available for use.

Image: Sony CSL

The APIS is the power interchange management software that comprises the core module of Sony Computer Science Laboratories’ microgrid Open Energy System and the proprietary peer-to-peer power interchange technology.

The Open Energy System is designed for use in DC microgrids in which decentralised energy resources such as solar, which have a DC output, are directly connected to the grid. With the transition from the AC infrastructure of the traditional grid to a growing decentralised DC infrastructure, DC microgrids are attracting increasing interest in Europe and elsewhere.

Sony CSL says it has been trialling Open Energy System based microgrid technologies in Okinawa in Japan and locations in Africa for five years, which has confirmed the technology to be stable and practical.

In the Okinawa pilot at the Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology (OIST), 19 faculty residences have been operating on solar panels and batteries controlled with the APIS technology since December 2014. The system has provided approximately 10 hours of continuous power, even when the regular AC power supply has been shut down for inspection. Furthermore, it has provided up to almost two-thirds of the daily power supply, with an annual average of one-third of the total power supply from renewables.