The Eco-electric Power Research Center was established in April 2007 through the FY2006 High-tech Research Center Project for private universities, an initiative led by Japan’s Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT) to promote social collaboration and address the research topic “developing next-generation power distribution systems to support the introduction of microgrids”. It is set up to carry out the Next-generation Power Distribution System Consortium project, a joint effort with industrial and government players. The center also grapples with research topics aimed at resolving other environmental and energy issues that are global in scope.
The Eco-electric Power Research Center microgrid is the first of demonstration facility of its kind to be constructed on a university campus in Japan. By introducing a DC power distribution system and adding it to the conventional AC power distribution system, the center is advancing research in the field with the purpose of developing new operational methods and increasing the possibility of introducing the DC setup into a smart grid power distribution system ten years down the road.