Innovator Masahiro Ito had an idea so great that he was sure someone else must have beat him to it: Why not make cargo ships that function as massive floating batteries to transport electricity from offshore wind turbines? Japan has limited offshore wind capacity because its waters are too deep for sea-to-shore cables. And with nuclear power drastically curtailed after the 2011 Fukushima disaster, most of Japan’s electricity is now generated by fossil fuels. Transporting power on ships could make sustainable offshore wind power a viable option for the island nation.
“It turns out nobody had thought of this idea,” says Ito, who founded a software graphics company at age 17 before inventing the ZOZOSUIT body scanner, a leotard-like garment paired with an app to measure body size for both clothing fit and workout progress. Thus was born PowerX, Ito’s game-changing energy company. The ships he envisioned, now called the Power Ark, are still in development, but other innovative PowerX battery products—notably the company’s Hypercharger, a battery-integrated ultrafast EV charger—are currently being deployed in Japan.
The Hypercharger solves some sticky problems: Power grids don’t have the high-voltage capacity for fast electric vehicle charging outside developed areas. In the U.S., the Inflation Reduction Act incentivized building fast-charge public stations in disadvantaged and rural areas: One standard mandates four 150-kilowatt connectors every 50 miles along highways. “You’re not going to find that kind of power on an interstate in Nevada,” says Ito. Even in big cities like Tokyo, he adds, the Hypercharger can help alleviate the heavy strain fast chargers put on the grid.
Enter the Hypercharger, an AI-powered assembly of safe, reliable lithium iron phosphate (LFP) cells wired to the conventional power grid. The PowerX batteries have a large storage capacity, allowing them to store enough energy for ultra fast charging of multiple cars without requiring high-voltage connections. Each charger can fully charge two electric cars simultaneously, or one tractor trailer, in less than 30 minutes. A phone app enables drivers to locate stations, reserve time and pay. The batteries can also send power back to the grid during a system outage.
A related PowerX product is AI Grid, a software app that helps owners of solar storage batteries—from businesses to homeowners—predict the most profitable time to sell excess power back to the grid, based on market price and usage factors.
AI is also key to the efficiency of the upcoming Power Ark ships. “You can predict how much wind will be blowing at what moment in the next 48 hours, then decide when the ship should arrive at the wind farm,” says Ito. “Then you must also consider the battery power needed to drive the ship itself, factoring in sea state and speed, because sometimes it will make sense for the ship to burn more energy and get to the wind turbine faster, whereas other times it might be better to go slow and almost let the current take it.”
Ito says the battery ships have applications beyond delivering electricity from sea to shore. For example, most Hawaii residents live on the crowded island of Oahu while Hawaii Island (also known as the Big Island) is sparsely populated and could theoretically support large, inexpensive solar farms. Like Japan, the Aloha State’s coastal waters are generally too deep for cables. Power Ark ships could efficiently move solar electricity from the Big Island to Oahu.
For all his big ideas, Ito also thinks small. Asked how he uses AI in his personal life, he doesn’t hesitate: “There’s a popular savory pancake in Japan called 'okonomiyaki.' The ones they make in Osaka taste different than the ones in Hiroshima. I was trying to put my finger on why. Google was no help, so I asked ChatGPT. And while I was sitting there eating one in Hiroshima, it gave me the clearest explanation of what makes it different: Osaka's pancakes have a sweeter mix and thicker sauce, while Hiroshima’s version is savory with more intricate layers and texture.
I love that!”
