Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings, Inc. (TEPCO) and Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corporation (NTT) have announced the launch of TNcross Corporation, a joint venture that will facilitate cross-industrial innovation by leveraging the two industry leaders' assets and know-how, including TEPCO's power-control technology and NTT's ICT expertise.
TNcross will begin operating in July.
The move is a business-diversity strategy, responding to changes in the electrical power sector, such as decarbonization, depopulation and the "Utility 3.0" democratization of electric power to promote the economic and environmental benefits of clean energy.
Specific benefits expected from the partnership include:
1) Increased use of renewable energy and enhanced preparedness for disasters
TNcross will develop businesses that lead to the increased diffusion of renewable energy and the securing of external power supply for responding to emergencies. This will involve the effective utilization of NTT's telecommunications storage batteries and TEPCO's transmission and distribution facilities, and distributed power resources managed with advanced ICT.
2) New, highly-efficient energy infrastructure utilizing direct current (DC)
TNcross will develop direct-current (DC) transmission and distribution infrastructure and related energy services, such as high-efficiency regional DC grids connected to NTT telecommunications facilities.
3) Creation of new infrastructure for advanced services
TNcross will create new basic services based on power-ICT resources that outside companies and municipalities will use to provide advanced services that meet changing needs in the market and society, such as Power-ICT related services necessary for smart cities.
TEPCO CEO Tomoaki Kobayakawa said: "The electric power sector is facing a massive transformation due to a number of disruptive factors in the industry. By combining our respective infrastructures and know-how to meet these changes, TEPCO and NTT will develop meaningful services that benefit individuals, businesses and society as a whole."
NTT CEO Hiroo Unoura said: "We are excited to be a partner of TEPCO, a giant electric power infrastructure company. This partnership will help NTT accelerate our strategy to utilize our assets and capabilities not only for supporting ICT infrastructure but also for solving social problems. Through this collaboration, we will create opportunities for service providers in various fields to deliver new value to end users. "
New joint company data:
(1) Name: TNcross, Corporation
(2) Head Office: Tokyo
(3) Equity Capital: 100 million yen
(4) Shareholder distribution: TEPCO 50%, NTT 50%
(5) Date of Establishment: July 2, 2018 (schedule)
The company name uses initials from both companies (TEPCO, NTT) together with the word 'cross' which refers to the goal of meeting the eXpectation of customers and to provide them the added value of eXcitement while utilizing the eXpertise of both companies as they cross over.
