Companies that make electrical components for cars are sitting pretty right now, and that includes DENSO manufacturing. At its largest manufacturing facility in Maryville, Tennessee, the company makes things like alternators, which are useful for regular cars and hybrids. Some of the things it’s built into, like inverters, are just fine for hybrids and EVs. Its gauge clusters fit into almost any type of vehicle.
However, having a good future supply of components for EV manufacturers is not enough for DENSO. It doesn’t just want to supply things for EVs, it wants to use the EVs themselves, and make it easy for employees to do so. That’s why DENSO installed EV charging stations in its facilities earlier this year. DENSO employees with battery-electric vehicles (BEVs) and plug-in hybrid vehicles can charge their vehicles at any of the newly installed charging stations around the campus.
Not only do EV ARC solar-powered charging stations offer employees convenient vehicle charging, but they generate and store electricity to provide renewable energy. They also compared how much carbon was saved compared to traditional cars in each use. The DENSO team believes in Two Big Causes: Green – making a commitment to be carbon neutral by 2035 – and Peace of Mind – improving safety for everyone around the world.
“The deployment of the charger helps us support our employees and represents an important part of DENSO’s future vision: helping society become greener and safer through new technology,” said Mark Moses, vice president of Electrification Systems at DENSO. “We do this by reducing the environmental impact of our manufacturing operations, the energy we use and the products we make. Beam technology contributes to these efforts, providing a sustainable solution that helps to protect our local communities and the planet.
DENSO is installing charging stations at its Maryville facility as it prepares to begin building an electrification and safety system there. This renovation of the 2.6-million-square-foot, 4,500-person location is necessary for DENSO to remain competitive in the automotive industry, where vehicles are increasingly being designed with electric and connected features.
Taking Things To The Next Level With Solar
DENSO, Silicon Ranch, the City of Maryville Electric Department and the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) broke ground earlier this month on a new solar facility at DENSO’s Maryville, Tennesee, location.
The new solar farm is just the beginning of DENSO’s green initiatives in Tennessee. The company plans to bring online four more solar production facilities in the state, which will use solar power to help achieve its goal of carbon neutrality by 2035. This move will also strengthen its participation in DENSO in the US Department of Energy’s Better Plants program and will strengthen broader efforts to reduce the environmental impact of its manufacturing operations and energy use.
The Maryville facility, a hub for DENSO electrification and safety systems manufacturing, will run on renewable energy once the solar projects are completed and other energy-saving initiatives are in place. It not only supports greater sustainability locally through its operations but also throughout North America with its products.
“Our mission is to contribute to a better world, and as part of that, we are committed to reducing CO2 emissions, not only through our products, but also in our operations and processes,” said Shinichi Nakamizo, president of DENSO’s Maryville facility and a Senior Director of DENSO Corporation. “We are grateful to Maryville Electric, Silicon Ranch and TVA for helping us turn our commitment into action. We are also grateful to our Maryville team, whose leadership has been essential to this project and is helping to advance local communities toward a clean energy future.
DENSO will use part of the 10.5 megawatts of solar energy produced by the City of Maryville Electric Department and Silicon Ranch under TVA’s Generation Flexibility program. The program allows participating local power companies to generate up to 5% of their total energy load from renewable sources, attracting businesses focused on sustainability, enabling them to achieve their goals while solving individual challenges for their distribution systems.
“TVA has been bringing renewable energy to the Valley for over 20 years, and this partnership with TVA Green programs extends the reach of our Green Renewable Solutions to local communities in our region,” said Doug Perry, TVA Senior Vice President of Commercial Energy Solutions. “With a shared mission in mind, this solar project with Silicon Ranch and others to follow will not only help us achieve our own sustainability goals but those of our LPCs and their customers too.”
Why It Matters
DENSO isn’t just a small automotive supplier in Tennessee. DENSO is a leading global mobility supplier, with operations in 35 countries and over 167,000 employees. The company develops advanced technologies and components for nearly every make and model of vehicle on the road today. With manufacturing at its core, DENSO invests in research and development to create new products that will directly change how the world works.
These products include electric powertrains, thermal systems, mobility electronics devices and more. By investing in these areas, DENSO is paving the way to a future of good mobility that will eliminate traffic accidents and preserve the environment. DENSO, a Japanese company with locations around the world, spent 9% of its global consolidated sales on research and development in the fiscal year ending March 31, 2022.
DENSO’s North American headquarters is located in Southfield, Michigan, with a staff of more than 27,000 engineers, researchers and skilled workers at 51 sites in the US, Canada and Mexico. Within the United States, DENSO has 14 state locations (plus DC) and 41 sites with 17,700+ employees. The company did $9.5 billion in sales as of March 31 this year alone.
What can be done just as quickly is continuing to make money and buy power made from fossil fuels. When people ask what they are doing for the environment, they can point to hybrid and electric cars with DENSO parts. For most of the public, that’s a good enough answer.
However, they went the extra mile here and decided to run their entire operation as well as their employees’ cars with solar power. That is a very good direction to go, although they could easily do less.
Featured image provided by Silicon Ranch.
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