I have had opportunities to visit homes that have installed a solar power generator as part of my work as a writer, and I always wonder if "it's possible to store the energy that has been generated at home." Currently, electricity generated during the daytime is used at home and the excess is sold to utility companies. Since it can't generate power during the night, you need to purchase back electricity from utility companies. As electricity is "created, sold, and bought" transmission loss occurs. So, I have believed that accumulator batteries are essential to realizing self-sufficiency using electricity generated at home.

Having said that, it seems like accumulator batteries for home use is about to become a reality. The prototype of the household lithium-ion battery introduced here is comprised of lithium-ion batteries that are the same size as those used for Panasonic’s "Let’s note" PCs.

The white lithium-ion batteries you can see in the front right within the glass case are the same type as the batteries used for "Let’s note" PCs. The lithium-ion battery module that is comprised of 140 pieces of these batteries (called "cells") can be also found within the glass case. What you see on the left is the household lithium-ion battery constructed from 6 module units.

By combining the household lithium-ion batteries with the solar power generator or household fuel cells, you can have enough energy to cover the electricity you need at home each day. The ability to add more of these modules or to connect them in tandem or parallel formation opens up possibilities for a wide range of applications including use as a power source for electric vehicles or industrial vehicles.

Other key features of this accumulator battery are superb safety and reliability. It is not only used for "Let’s note" PCs, but for many PCs used around the world; it has won the trust of the consumers. I have also been using "Let’s note" for a long time, so the household lithium-ion batteries felt like a very familiar product to me.