Contributing to Carbon Neutrality in the Pharmaceutical Industry: Launching Shared EV Charging Infrastructure for Company Vehicles

Sumitomo Mitsui Auto Service Company, Limited (SMAS) [Headquarters: Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo; President: Koji Aso], MEDISEO Corporation [Headquarters: Chuo-ku, Tokyo; President: Kuniaki Imagawa], a consolidated subsidiary of MEDIPAL HOLDINGS CORPORATION [Headquarters: Chuo-ku, Tokyo; President: Shuichi Watanabe, hereinafter 'MEDIPAL'], and The Kansai Electric Power Company, Inc. [Headquarters: Kita-ku, Osaka; President: Nozomu Mori, hereinafter 'Kansai Electric Power'] have announced the construction of a 'charger sharing' model. This initiative allows pharmaceutical companies to share EV charging infrastructure for company vehicles used by Medical Representatives (MRs), aiming to contribute to carbon neutrality within the pharmaceutical industry.

1. Background and Purpose

In the pharmaceutical industry, reducing greenhouse gas emissions from pharmaceutical manufacturing and company-managed vehicles is an urgent issue. A survey conducted by SMAS among its pharmaceutical clients revealed that while companies are transitioning to EVs, the longer charging times compared to refueling gasoline vehicles and the difficulty of securing charging locations for MRs—who frequently travel directly between sites—have become bottlenecks to widespread adoption.

Against this backdrop, as part of efforts to develop charging infrastructure for carbon neutrality, we have built a 'charger sharing' model. This involves installing EV chargers at MEDISEO ALCs*, which are frequent destinations for MRs, and opening them to multiple pharmaceutical companies, thereby contributing to the promotion of EV adoption across the industry.

*ALC (Area Logistics Center): High-function logistics centers that handle ethical drugs, medical materials, etc.

2. Features of this Initiative and Roles of Each Company

This initiative involves installing two 'Kanmobi Charge' EV charging units (6kW standard chargers) provided by Kansai Electric Power at MEDISEO's Saitama ALC (Misato City, Saitama), Nagoya ALC (Kiyosu City, Aichi), and Minami-Osaka ALC (Yao City, Osaka). It aims to support the pharmaceutical industry through an end-to-end approach, from 'developing charging infrastructure' to 'promoting the adoption of company EVs,' by allowing participating pharmaceutical companies (subject to prior application) to use these as daytime en-route charging spots.

SMAS, as a leading company in the auto leasing industry with a strong track record in EV adoption for the pharmaceutical sector, provides one-stop EV support, including vehicle selection, maintenance leasing, charging equipment installation, and charging card issuance. SMAS will propose this scheme to pharmaceutical manufacturers to boost operational efficiency and promote the adoption of company EVs.

The MEDIPAL Group, whose core business is wholesaling in the fields of 'medical, health, and beauty,' views the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions as an urgent task for a company involved in distribution and is promoting decarbonization. As part of these efforts, the group is promoting the adoption of company EVs and expanding charging infrastructure. By opening its own chargers to multiple pharmaceutical companies during the day, it will contribute to the development of social infrastructure for EV promotion.

Kansai Electric Power supports the carbon neutrality of the pharmaceutical industry by proposing and providing various decarbonization solutions. 'Kanmobi Charge' is an EV charging service for corporations that can be introduced with zero initial costs. It provides a dedicated app and system for charging reservations and billing.