Operation management system, vehicle operation system, vehicle, operation management method, and program

Abstract

An operation management system (1) according to the present disclosure comprises: an information acquisition unit (12) that acquires operation request information indicating the departure point and destination point of a vehicle (41); and an operation plan determination unit (13) that, on the basis of the positions of charging spots (2) each provided with a charger (21) capable of charging the vehicle (41), the operation request information, and supply amount prediction information indicating a predicted value of a supply amount of renewable energy-sourced electricity that is derived from renewable energy capable of charging the vehicle (41) in each management target spot which is a charging spot (2) to be managed among the charging spots (2), selects a charging spot (2) for charging the vehicle (41), and determines an operation plan for the vehicle (41) by using the selection result for the charging spot (2).

Description

Traffic management system, vehicle traffic system, vehicle, traffic management method and program

[0001] The present disclosure relates to a traffic management system for managing the operation of commercial electric vehicles, a vehicle traffic system, a vehicle, a traffic management method, and a program.

[0002] In recent years, the introduction of electric vehicles has progressed. Electric vehicles run on electricity stored in built-in batteries. Meanwhile, with the progress of global decarbonization, there has been growing interest in using electricity derived from renewable energy sources such as natural energy (hereinafter referred to as renewable energy electricity) to charge electric vehicles.

[0003] Patent Literature 1 discloses an operation plan creation support device that creates an operation plan for an electric truck, which is an electric vehicle used to transport cargo, so as to increase the opportunities for charging the electric truck with electricity derived from natural energy. In the technology described in Patent Literature 1, relay points are determined in advance, and an operation plan is created so that the tractor head of the electric truck is charged at the relay points using electricity derived from natural energy preferentially over electricity from a commercial power source.

[0004] JP 2011-54048 A

[0005] In the technology described in Patent Document 1, because relay points are fixed, if an electric truck is scheduled to arrive at the destination by a requested arrival deadline, there may be a shortage of electricity derived from natural energy at the relay point, in which case the tractor head will be charged with electricity from a commercial power source. In the technology described in Patent Document 1, in order to reduce the number of tractor heads charged with electricity from a commercial power source, it becomes necessary to shift the time when charging takes place at the relay point, which may result in the requested arrival deadline being missed.

[0006] The present disclosure has been made in consideration of the above, and aims to provide an operation management system that can create operation plans that reduce environmental impact while preventing delays from requested arrival deadlines.

[0007] To solve the above-described problems and achieve the objectives, a traffic management system according to the present disclosure includes an information acquisition unit that acquires operation request information indicating a departure point and a destination point of a vehicle that is a commercial electric vehicle. The traffic management system further includes an operation plan determination unit that selects a charge spot to charge the vehicle based on the locations of charge spots where chargers capable of charging the vehicle are installed, the operation request information, and supply amount prediction information that indicates a predicted value of the supply amount of renewable energy supply power, which is electricity derived from renewable energy and capable of charging the vehicle at each managed charge spot that is a managed charge spot, and determines a vehicle operation plan using the result of the charge spot selection.

[0008] The traffic management system according to the present disclosure has an effect of being able to create a traffic plan that reduces environmental load while preventing delays from the requested arrival deadline.

[0009] FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of a vehicle operation system according to an embodiment. FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of vehicle charging information according to an embodiment. FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an example of charging spot information according to an embodiment. FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of a vehicle configuration according to an embodiment. FIG. 5 is a sequence diagram showing an example of the overall processing according to an embodiment. FIG. 6 is a diagram showing an example of an operation section for which an operation plan is created according to an embodiment. FIG. 7 is a diagram showing an example of an operation section for which an operation plan is created according to an embodiment.

[0010] Hereinafter, a traffic management system, a vehicle traffic system, a vehicle, a traffic management method, and a program according to embodiments will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0011] 1 is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of a vehicle operation system 100 according to an embodiment. The vehicle operation system 100 of this embodiment includes one or more vehicles 41 and an operation management system 1 that creates an operation plan for the vehicles 41. The vehicles 41 are commercial electric vehicles (EVs), and may be, for example, at least one of a large truck, a medium truck, a large bus, a medium bus, and a microbus, but are not limited to these. The vehicles 41 are managed by a vehicle management system 42.

[0012] In FIG. 1 , the operator managed system 4, which is managed by a single operator, is indicated by a dashed line, and a vehicle management system 42 operated by the operator is provided for each operator. FIG. 1 shows an example in which the vehicle operation system 100 creates operation plans for vehicles 41 managed by multiple operators, but the vehicle operation system 100 may also create operation plans for vehicles 41 managed by a single operator. Also, in FIG. 1 , a vehicle management system 42 is provided for each operator, but this is not limited thereto. One vehicle management system 42 may manage the vehicles 41 of multiple operators, or one operator's vehicles 41 may be managed by multiple vehicle management systems 42. In FIG. 1 , the operation management system 1 and the vehicle management system 42 are provided separately, but the operation management system 1 and the vehicle management system 42 may be integrated.

[0013] In this embodiment, an example is described in which the operator is a transportation company that transports luggage, etc., but the operator is not limited to this and may be a bus operator or another operator. While FIG. 1 illustrates an example in which all vehicles managed by each operator are electric vehicles 41, the present invention is not limited to this. The vehicles managed by each operator may also include vehicles other than electric vehicles (not shown), such as gasoline-powered vehicles, in addition to the electric vehicles 41. When the vehicles managed by the operator include vehicles other than electric vehicles, the vehicle operation system 100 creates an operation plan for the vehicles 41 among the vehicles managed by the operator. Furthermore, while FIG. 1 illustrates an example in which the operation management system 1 creates operation plans for the vehicles 41 of multiple operators, the operation management system 1 may also create an operation plan for the vehicles 41 of a single operator.

[0014] The charging spot 2 is a location where the vehicle 41 can be charged, and is, for example, at least one of a service area (SA), a parking area (PA), an office of a business operator that manages the vehicle 41, a sales office of a business operator that manages the vehicle 41, a charging station, a parking lot, a shopping center, a convenience store, etc., but is not limited to these. The charging spot 2 is provided with one or more chargers 21 that can charge the vehicle 41. There are multiple charging spots 2. At least some of the multiple charging spots 2 are charging locations for the vehicle 41 that are managed by a business operator that manages the vehicle 41 or a business operator that operates the traffic management system 1, i.e., managed charging spots 2. The multiple charging spots 2 may include both managed charging spots 2 and general-purpose charging locations, or all may be managed charging spots 2.

[0015] The charging spot 2 is further equipped with a renewable energy power generation facility 22, a power storage facility 23, and a charging management device 24. The renewable energy power generation facility 22 may be, for example, a solar power generation facility or a wind power generation facility, but is not limited to these facilities as long as it is a power generation facility that generates electricity using renewable energy. The following describes an example in which the renewable energy power generation facility 22 is a solar power generation facility. Note that all charging spots 2 may be equipped with the renewable energy power generation facility 22, the power storage facility 23, and the charging management device 24, or there may be a mixture of charging spots 2 equipped with the renewable energy power generation facility 22, the power storage facility 23, and the charging management device 24 and charging spots 2 that do not. The dashed-dotted lines in FIG. 1 are simplified representations of the electric wires through which power is exchanged. The charger 21 can charge the vehicle 41 using power generated by the renewable energy power generation facility 22 and can also charge the vehicle 41 using power supplied from a power grid 3, such as a commercial power grid. Furthermore, by discharging the power stored in the power storage equipment 23, the charger 21 can charge the vehicle 41 using the power stored in the power storage equipment 23. Furthermore, it is also possible to cause the power generated by the renewable energy power generation equipment 22 and the power stored in the power storage equipment 23 to flow reversely to the power grid 3. The power storage equipment 23 can store, for example, the power generated by the renewable energy power generation equipment 22 that is not used by the charger 21. The power storage equipment 23 may store power supplied from the power grid 3.

[0016] When an AC bus is used as the bus at the charging spot 2, the power supplied from the power grid 3 is transformed by a transformer (not shown) and supplied to the AC bus. In this case, the renewable energy power generation facility 22 includes, for example, a power conversion facility such as a power conditioner that performs AC (Alternating Current) / DC (Direct Current) conversion, and a solar panel. In this case, for example, the charger 21 also functions as a power converter that performs AC / DC conversion. In this case, for example, the power storage facility 23 also includes a storage battery and a storage battery control device that functions as a power converter that performs AC / DC conversion and controls the storage battery.

[0017] When a DC bus is used as the bus at the charging spot 2, power supplied from the power grid 3 is converted by a power converter (not shown) that performs AC / DC conversion before being supplied to the DC bus. In this case, the renewable energy power generation facility 22 includes, for example, a power conversion facility such as a power conditioner that performs DC / DC conversion, and a solar panel. Furthermore, in this case, for example, the charger 21 functions as a power converter that performs DC / DC conversion. Furthermore, in this case, for example, the power storage facility 23 includes a storage battery and a storage battery control device that functions as a power converter that performs DC / DC conversion and controls the storage battery. Note that the power conversion facility in the renewable energy power generation facility 22 may also function as the storage battery control device in the power storage facility 23.

[0018] The charging management device 24 functions as an energy management system (hereinafter also referred to as an EMS (Energy Management System)) that manages the power of the renewable energy power generation facility 22, the power storage facility 23, and the charger 21. Specifically, the charging management device 24, for example, predicts the amount of power generated by the renewable energy power generation facility 22 and the amount of charge of the charger 21, and creates an electric power supply and demand plan including a charge and discharge plan for the power storage facility 23 and a usage plan for electric power supplied from the electric power grid 3 for a certain period using the prediction results, i.e., the predicted value of the amount of power generated and the predicted value of the amount of charge of the charger 21. At this time, the electric power used to charge the power storage facility 23 is managed separately for each power source, i.e., as electric power generated by the renewable energy power generation facility 22 and electric power supplied from the electric power grid 3. In this way, the charging management device 24 can manage the renewable energy ratio, which is the ratio of the amount of electric power derived from renewable energy to the amount of electric power stored in the power storage facility 23. When the renewable energy ratio of the power supplied from the power grid 3 is presented, the charge management device 24 determines the renewable energy ratio of the amount of power stored in the power storage facility 23, taking into consideration the renewable energy ratio of the power supplied from the power grid 3. The certain period is, for example, the next day, but is not limited to this, and may be half a day, one week, or any other period that may be determined.

[0019] The charging management device 24 may create a power supply and demand plan using, for example, the unit price of purchased power, which is power supplied from the power grid 3, so that costs are minimized over a certain period of time or so that the costs are below a threshold. If the unit price of purchased power varies depending on the time period, the charging management device 24 creates a power supply and demand plan using the unit price for each time period. At this time, the charging management device 24 may create a power supply and demand plan so that the power supplied from the power grid 3 is below a predetermined allowable value. Alternatively, the charging management device 24 may create a power supply and demand plan so that carbon dioxide emissions are minimized. Furthermore, the charging management device 24 may define an evaluation value using both the cost and the carbon dioxide emissions, and create a power supply and demand plan so that the evaluation value is minimized. The method of creating a power supply and demand plan is not limited to the above-described example.

[0020] The amount of power generated by the renewable energy power generation facility 22 is predicted based on, for example, weather information including forecast values ​​for weather or sunshine amount and the rated power of the renewable energy power generation facility 22, but the method for predicting the amount of power generated by the renewable energy power generation facility 22 is not limited to this example. The amount of charge by the charger 21 is predicted based on, for example, actual values ​​of past charge amounts. For example, the past charge amounts of the charger 21 may be stored, and the average value of the charge amounts over multiple days for each 30-minute time slot of a day may be used as the predicted value. Furthermore, the past charge amounts of the charger 21 may be divided by day of the week and an average value calculated, and the average value for each past time slot may be used as the predicted value. The method for predicting the amount of charge by the charger 21 is not limited to this example.

[0021] Based on the power supply and demand plan, the charging management device 24 predicts, for each time period, the supply amount (power amount) of renewable energy supply power, which is power derived from renewable energy that the charging spot 2 can supply for charging the vehicle 41, as the renewable energy supply amount. The charging management device 24 thereby generates supply amount prediction information including a predicted value of the renewable energy supply amount for each time period. The time period may be, for example, in 30-minute increments, but is not limited to this and may be in 15-minute increments or in 1-hour increments. The charging management device 24 transmits the supply amount prediction information to the traffic management system 1. The renewable energy supply amount includes the amount of power generated by the renewable energy power generation facility 22 and may further include the amount of power generated by the renewable energy power generation facility 22 that is stored in the power storage facility 23 and discharged from the power storage facility 23. The charging management device 24 may also transmit charging spot information, described later, to the traffic management system 1. The charging management device 24 may receive an operation plan from the traffic management system 1, and update the charging schedule of the chargers 21 at the charging spots 2 based on the received operation plan, thereby updating the power supply and demand plan. Furthermore, the charging management device 24 may receive a change instruction from the traffic management system 1 to change the amount of renewable energy power supplied from the power storage equipment 23, and update the charging schedule of the power storage equipment 23 based on the received change instruction, thereby updating the power supply and demand plan.

[0022] Furthermore, the charging management device 24 acquires, from each charger 21, charging power used when the charger 21 charges the vehicle 41, and transmits, for each vehicle 41, charging history information including the amount of power used to charge the vehicle 41 (charging amount) and the renewable energy ratio of the charging amount to the vehicle management system 42 corresponding to the vehicle 41. Alternatively, the charging management device 24 may transmit the charging history information to the traffic management system 1. Furthermore, the charger 21 may transmit the charging history information to the vehicle 41, and the vehicle 41 may transmit the information to the vehicle management system 42. Note that, for example, the charging management device 24 receives, from the renewable energy power generation facility 22, a measured value of the amount of power generated by the renewable energy power generation facility 22, receives charged and discharged power from the power storage facility 23, and calculates the renewable energy ratio of the amount of power charged to the vehicle 41 using the amount of power generated by the renewable energy power generation facility 22, the charging and discharging amount calculated from the charging and discharging power of the power storage facility 23, and the charging amount of the charger 21.

[0023] 1 shows an example in which the renewable energy power generation facility 22 and the power storage facility 23 are provided within the charging spot 2, the renewable energy power generation facility 22 and the power storage facility 23 may be provided outside the charging spot 2. In this case as well, the charger 21 is capable of charging the vehicle 41 using power supplied from the renewable energy power generation facility 22, and is capable of charging the vehicle 41 using power supplied from the power storage facility 23.

[0024] The vehicle management system 42 receives request information indicating the details of the request for transportation from the shipper system 5, which is managed by a shipper requesting the transportation of cargo or the like using the vehicle 41, and manages the vehicle 41 based on the received request information. The request information includes information about the shipper, information about the object to be transported, information about the transportation, etc. The information about the shipper includes, for example, the shipper's identification information and address. The information about the object to be transported includes information such as the size, weight, storage temperature specifications (refrigerated, frozen, etc.), and whether the cargo is fragile. The information about the transportation includes information about the source of transportation and information about the destination of transportation. The information about the source of transportation includes, for example, the start location of the object to be transported and the departure time from the start location of the transportation. The information about the destination of transportation includes, for example, the end location of the object to be transported and the arrival time at the end location of the transportation. The departure time and arrival time may be specified as a time range. For example, the arrival time may be specified as 17:00-18:00. Note that, while an example in which the request information is transmitted from the shipper system 5 is described here, the request information may also be input into the vehicle management system 42 by an operator or the like.

[0025] The vehicle management system 42 includes a management unit 43, a transceiver unit 44, and an information storage unit 45. The transceiver unit 44 communicates with other devices. For example, the transceiver unit 44 communicates with each of the vehicles 41 managed by the vehicle management system 42, the charging management device 24, the shipper system 5, and the operation management system 1. Specifically, for example, the transceiver unit 44 receives request information from the shipper system 5 and outputs the received request information to the management unit 43. For example, the transceiver unit 44 receives vehicle status information from the vehicle 41, including information indicating the remaining capacity of the storage battery of the vehicle 41, and outputs the received vehicle status information to the management unit 43. The vehicle status information includes, for example, a state of charge (SOC). The vehicle status information may include a state of health (SOH) or location information indicating the location of the vehicle 41. For example, the transceiver unit 44 receives charging history information from the charging management device 24 and outputs the received charging history information to the management unit 43. Furthermore, for example, the transmitter / receiver 44 receives an operation plan from the traffic management system 1 and transmits the received operation plan to the vehicle 41. Note that the charging history information may be transmitted from the charging management device 24 to the traffic management system 1, and the traffic management system 1 may transmit the charging history information to the vehicle management system 42. Note that the vehicle status information may be transmitted from the vehicle 41 to the traffic management system 1, and the traffic management system 1 may transmit the vehicle status information to the vehicle management system 42.

[0026] The information storage unit 45 stores, for each vehicle 41, the renewable energy ratio, the integrated value of the charge amount, and the renewable energy requirement information. As described below, the renewable energy ratio of the vehicle 41 is the renewable energy ratio of the integrated charge amount used to charge the vehicle 41, and is calculated, for example, by the management unit 43. Note that, below, an example will be described in which the renewable energy ratio of the vehicle 41 is the renewable energy ratio of the electricity used to charge the vehicle 41. However, the renewable energy ratio of the vehicle 41 may also be the renewable energy ratio of the electricity used to run the vehicle 41. In updating the renewable energy ratio, in this embodiment, when calculating the renewable energy ratio of the vehicle 41, not only actual renewable energy-derived electricity but also non-renewable energy-derived electricity (such as fossil fuel-derived electricity) to which a non-fossil fuel certificate has been granted, i.e., electricity procured with a non-fossil fuel certificate, is considered to be renewable energy-derived electricity. The renewable energy requirement information indicates a renewable energy ratio requirement for each vehicle 41, for example, a renewable energy ratio that must be complied with. The required renewable energy ratio of the vehicle 41 may be a target renewable energy ratio of the business operator that manages the vehicle 41, or a target renewable energy ratio requested by a shipper or the like. The renewable energy request information may be input into the vehicle management system 42 by an operator or the like, or may be transmitted from the shipper system 5 or another system not shown. The renewable energy request information may be set for a fixed period, such as quarterly, semi-annually, or annually, or may be set for each operation of the vehicle 41. The integrated value of the charge amount is the integrated value of the amount of electricity used to charge the vehicle 41 during the period corresponding to the renewable energy request information. For example, if the renewable energy ratio to be complied with in the renewable energy request information for the vehicle 41 is the renewable energy ratio for six months, the integrated value of the charge amount is reset every six months.

[0027] The renewable energy ratio is an example of an indicator related to environmental load. The indicator related to environmental load is not limited to the renewable energy ratio and may be carbon dioxide emissions, a carbon dioxide emission coefficient, or a carbon dioxide reduction amount. The renewable energy requirement information is an example of environmental requirement information indicating a required value of an indicator related to environmental load. The environmental requirement information is not limited to the example indicated by the renewable energy ratio and may be any required value for an indicator related to environmental load. When the indicator related to environmental load is the renewable energy ratio, if the required value for the renewable energy ratio is a renewable energy ratio of 50%, the renewable energy ratio related to charging of the vehicle 41 is required to be 50% or more. When the indicator related to environmental load is carbon dioxide emissions, the carbon dioxide emissions related to charging of the vehicle 41 are required to be equal to or less than the required value for the indicator related to environmental load. The environmental requirement information may also include information indicating a required reporting system. Examples of reporting systems include, but are not limited to, Science Based Targets (SBT), Renewable Energy 100 (RE) and Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP).

[0028] Based on the request information received from the transmitting / receiving unit 44, the management unit 43 assigns a vehicle 41 to the delivery corresponding to the request information, adds a vehicle ID (identifier) ​​that is identification information of the assigned vehicle 41 to the request information, determines the departure point, destination, departure time, and arrival time of the assigned vehicle 41 based on the request information, and outputs operation request information including the vehicle ID, departure point, destination, departure time, and arrival time to the transmitting / receiving unit 44. The operation request information is information that indicates the departure point and destination of the vehicle 41, and may also include the driving route of the vehicle 41. The transmitting / receiving unit 44 transmits the operation request information received from the management unit 43 to the operation management system 1.

[0029] The management unit 43 also functions as a calculation unit that calculates the renewable energy ratio of the vehicle 41. For each vehicle 41, the management unit 43 determines whether the vehicle 41 has been charged using the charging history information or vehicle state information received from the transceiver 44. If the vehicle 41 has been charged, the management unit 43 updates the renewable energy ratio and the integrated value of the charging amount of the vehicle 41 stored in the information storage unit 45. If the vehicle 41 has been charged, the management unit 43 calculates an updated renewable energy ratio based on the amount of charge used for charging, the renewable energy ratio of the charging amount, and the renewable energy ratio and integrated value of the charging amount of the vehicle 41 stored in the information storage unit 45, and overwrites the renewable energy ratio of the vehicle 41 stored in the information storage unit 45 with the updated renewable energy ratio. The renewable energy ratio of the charging amount is calculated based on the charging history information and certificate allocation information, which will be described later. The certificate allocation information is transmitted from the traffic management system 1 to the vehicle management system 42. In addition, the management unit 43 uses the cumulative charge amount stored in the information storage unit 45 and the charging performance information to calculate the updated cumulative charge amount and overwrites the cumulative charge amount of the vehicle 41.

[0030] For example, assuming that the integrated value of the charge amount of vehicle 41 stored in information storage unit 45 is A, the renewable energy ratio of vehicle 41 stored in information storage unit 45 is X%, the charge amount used for charging is B, the renewable energy ratio of the charge amount is Y%, and the updated renewable energy ratio is Z%, management unit 43 can calculate Z using the following formula (1): Z=(A×X+B×Y) / (A+B) (1)

[0031] The renewable energy ratio of the vehicle 41 (renewable energy ratio of the charge amount used to charge the vehicle 41) may be updated based on the renewable energy ratio of the charge amount used to charge the vehicle 41, and the updating method is not limited to this example. Furthermore, the calculation method of the renewable energy ratio is not limited to the above example, and the renewable energy ratio may be calculated by a method defined in the corresponding reporting system.

[0032] 1 illustrates an example in which the vehicle management system 42 calculates the renewable energy ratio of each vehicle 41 and stores the renewable energy ratio, but the calculation and storage of the renewable energy ratio of each vehicle 41 may be performed by a device other than the vehicle management system 42. For example, the traffic management system 1 may calculate and store the renewable energy ratio of each vehicle 41. For example, the traffic management system 1 may store the renewable energy ratio and the integrated value of the charge amount of each vehicle 41, receive charging performance information from the charging management device 24, and perform the above-described calculation to update the renewable energy ratio and the integrated value of the charge amount of each vehicle 41. In this case, the traffic management system 1 may transmit the renewable energy ratio and the integrated value of the charge amount of each vehicle 41 to the vehicle management system 42.

[0033] Alternatively, the vehicle management system 42 may store the renewable energy ratio and the integrated value of the charge amount of the vehicle 41, and the traffic management system 1 may receive charging performance information from the charging management device 24 and receive the integrated value of the renewable energy ratio and the charge amount of the vehicle 41 from the vehicle management system 42. In this case, the traffic management system 1 calculates the updated renewable energy ratio and integrated value of the charge amount of the vehicle 41 using the received information and transmits the calculated updated renewable energy ratio and integrated value of the charge amount of the vehicle 41 to the vehicle management system 42, and the vehicle management system 42 updates the stored renewable energy ratio and integrated value of the charge amount of the vehicle 41 with the received information.

[0034] Alternatively, for example, the charging management device 24 may include a calculation unit that calculates the renewable energy ratio. In this case, for example, the vehicle management system 42 may store the renewable energy ratio and the integrated value of the charging amount, and the charging management device 24 may acquire the renewable energy ratio and the integrated value of the charging amount from the vehicle management system 42 and receive certificate allocation information from the traffic management system 1, thereby performing a similar calculation. In this case, the charging management device 24 transmits the calculated updated renewable energy ratio and integrated value of the charging amount of the vehicle 41 to the vehicle management system 42, and the vehicle management system 42 updates the stored renewable energy ratio and integrated value of the charging amount of the vehicle 41 with the received information. Alternatively, the vehicle 41 may store the renewable energy ratio and the integrated value of the charging amount, receive charging performance information from the charging management device 24, receive certificate allocation information from the traffic management system 1, and update the renewable energy ratio and integrated value using the received information. The entity that calculates and stores the renewable energy ratio of the vehicle 41 is not limited to the above-mentioned example. In addition, when the environmental requirement information is expressed in terms of carbon dioxide emissions, for example, an integrated value for each power source of the amount of electricity used for charging is stored for each vehicle 41, and the integrated value for each power source is updated each time charging is performed, and the carbon dioxide emissions are calculated based on the integrated value and the carbon dioxide emission coefficient for each power source of the charging power used by the charging spot 2 for charging.

[0035] The management unit 43 generates vehicle charging information for each vehicle 41 using the vehicle state information and information such as the renewable energy ratio and renewable energy request information stored in the information storage unit 45, and outputs the generated vehicle charging information to the transmission / reception unit 44. As a result, the transmission / reception unit 44 transmits the vehicle charging information to the traffic management system 1. Note that the transmission of the vehicle charging information may be performed when requested by the traffic management system 1, may be performed every time the information is updated, or may be performed periodically.

[0036] FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of vehicle charging information according to the present embodiment. In the example shown in FIG. 2, the vehicle charging information includes a vehicle ID, a vehicle storage battery remaining capacity, a renewable energy ratio, a capacity, renewable energy request information, and an integrated value of the charge amount. The vehicle storage battery remaining capacity is the remaining capacity of the storage battery of the vehicle 41. The vehicle storage battery remaining capacity may be the SOC, or may be the amount of power stored in the storage battery of the vehicle 41, calculated based on the SOC and the capacity of the storage battery of the vehicle 41. The renewable energy ratio is the renewable energy ratio of the vehicle 41. When the vehicle storage battery remaining capacity is the amount of power stored in the storage battery of the vehicle 41, the management unit 43 calculates the amount of power stored in the storage battery of the vehicle 41 using the capacity of the storage battery of the vehicle 41 and the SOC included in the vehicle state information. The renewable energy ratio is an actual value of the renewable energy ratio related to the charging of the vehicle 41. The capacity is the capacity of the storage battery of the vehicle 41. Note that, instead of the capacity, the vehicle model of the vehicle 41, the model name of the storage battery of the vehicle 41, or the like may be used. Furthermore, if the operation management system 1 stores the capacity of the storage battery of the vehicle 41 for each vehicle ID, the capacity of the storage battery of the vehicle 41 does not need to be included in the vehicle charging information.

[0037] 2 , the capacity, the renewable energy ratio, the renewable energy requirement information, and the integrated value of the charge amount are stored for each vehicle ID in the information storage unit 45, and when charging is performed, the renewable energy ratio and the integrated value of the charge amount are updated as described above. The management unit 43 generates vehicle charging information using, for example, the vehicle ID and SOC stored in the latest vehicle state information received from the vehicle 41, and the capacity, the renewable energy ratio, the renewable energy requirement information, and the integrated value of the charge amount stored in the information storage unit 45.

[0038] Returning to the description of FIG. 1 , the operation management system 1 includes an information storage unit 11, an information acquisition unit 12, an operation plan determination unit 13, an operation plan output unit 15, and a procurement processing unit 16. The information acquisition unit 12 communicates with other devices. For example, the information acquisition unit 12 acquires vehicle charging information, operation request information, and the like from the vehicle management system 42, and stores the acquired information in the information storage unit 11. Furthermore, for example, the information acquisition unit 12 receives supply amount prediction information from the charging management device 24, and stores the received supply amount prediction information in the information storage unit 11. Furthermore, the information acquisition unit 12 acquires certificate information related to environmental value, such as non-fossil fuel certificates, from an environmental value trading system 6 that trades non-fossil fuel certificates, and stores the acquired certificate information in the information storage unit 11.

[0039] The information storage unit 11 stores an operation plan, charging spot information, vehicle charging information, supply amount prediction information, map information, operation request information, and certificate information. The operation plan is an operation plan for the vehicle 41 determined by the operation plan determination unit 13, which will be described later.

[0040] The charge spot information is information about the charge spot 2 and includes, for example, the location of the charge spot 2, the type of the charge spot 2, and information indicating the supply amount prediction information corresponding to the charge spot 2. The type of the charge spot 2 includes whether the charge spot 2 is a managed charge spot 2. A managed charge spot 2 is, for example, a charge spot 2 managed by a business operator that manages the vehicle 41 or a charge spot 2 managed by a business operator that operates the traffic management system 1. Note that, while it is assumed here that the above-described supply amount prediction information can be acquired from all managed charge spots 2, this is not limited to this, and some managed charge spots 2 may not be able to acquire supply amount prediction information. For example, some managed charge spots 2 may not be equipped with renewable energy power generation facilities 22. The information indicating the supply amount prediction information corresponding to the charge spot 2 includes, for example, information indicating the file name, link, or storage location of the corresponding supply amount prediction information. The charge spot information may be input to the traffic management system 1 by an operator or the like, or may be transmitted from the charge management device 24 and received by the traffic management system 1.

[0041] FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an example of charge spot information according to the present embodiment. In the example shown in FIG. 3 , the charge spot information includes the type, location, charger information, unit price, and renewable energy information for each charge spot 2. In the example shown in FIG. 3 , charge spots 2-1 to 2-4 are included as charge spots 2, and the charge spot columns 2-1 to 2-4 indicate the identification information of the charge spots 2. However, this is not limited to this, and the name of the charge spot 2 or the like may also be used as the identification information of the charge spot 2. In the example shown in FIG. 3 , the type indicates whether the charge spot 2 is a managed charge spot. The location indicates the location of the charge spot 2. The charger information is information about the charger 21 provided in the charge spot 2, and indicates, for example, the charging power of the charger 21. The charger information may include the size of the vehicle 41 that can be charged. For example, the charger information may include information indicating whether the charger can charge a medium-sized truck or a large truck. The charger information may be determined for each charger 21. The unit price is the unit price of charging power using the charger 21 of the charge spot 2. In the case of a charging spot 2 equipped with renewable energy power generation equipment 22, this unit price is the unit price of electricity to be purchased when there is a shortage of renewable energy electricity supplied by the charging spot 2. In the case of a charging spot 2 that is not subject to management, the unit price is the unit price of charging electricity when charging is performed at the charging spot 2. Note that in the case of a charging spot 2 that has multiple fee settings with different renewable energy ratios, a unit price is stored for each renewable energy ratio.

[0042] The renewable energy information is information about renewable energy for the power used by the charging spot 2 for charging. For example, the renewable energy information is supply amount prediction information in the case of a managed charging spot 2, and is a renewable energy ratio in the case of an unmanaged charging spot 2. Note that, when supply amount prediction information is provided for an unmanaged charging spot 2, the supply amount prediction information may also be used as the renewable energy information. The charging spot information is not limited to the example shown in FIG. 3 as long as it includes at least the location of each charging spot 2.

[0043] The map information is used to determine the charging spot 2 where the vehicle 41 is to be charged, and may be, for example, a map represented by a graph in graph theory. Furthermore, if the operation plan determination unit 13 determines the operation plan while also determining the driving route, the map information may be used for route search.

[0044] The certificate information is information indicating the contents of the non-fossil certificates acquired from the environmental value trading system 6, and includes information indicating the type, period, and procurement amount of each procured certificate. The certificate information also includes certificate allocation information indicating to which vehicle 41 the procurement amount corresponding to each certificate has been allocated.

[0045] Returning to the description of FIG. 1 , the operation plan determination unit 13 creates an operation plan for each vehicle 41 based on the operation request information, charge spot information, supply amount prediction information, and vehicle charging information stored in the information storage unit 11, stores the created operation plan in the information storage unit 11, and outputs the created operation plan to the operation plan output unit 15. The operation plan determination unit 13 selects a charge spot 2 to charge the vehicle 41 based on, for example, the location of the charge spot 2, the operation request information, and the supply amount prediction information for each managed charge spot 2 that is a managed charge spot 2, and determines an operation plan for the vehicle 41 using the selection result of the charge spot 2. Specifically, for example, the operation plan determination unit 13 selects a charge spot 2 so as to prioritize the use of renewable energy supply power as the power to be used to charge the vehicle 41 based on the supply amount of renewable energy power indicated by the supply amount prediction information. Then, if there is a vehicle 41 that cannot be charged within the range of the renewable energy supply amount (predicted value of the renewable energy supply amount) indicated by the supply amount prediction information, the operation plan determination unit 13 selects a charging spot 2 so that the vehicle 41 can be charged using electricity other than the renewable energy supply electricity at the managed spot, or can be charged at a charging spot 2 other than the managed spot.

[0046] If a charging spot 2 serving as a relay point is predetermined for each vehicle 41, the number of vehicles 41 that can be charged simultaneously is limited by the renewable energy power that can be supplied at that relay point, and therefore prioritizing the use of renewable energy power may cause delays in the arrival of the vehicle 41. In this embodiment, the charging spot 2 that charges the vehicle 41 is determined so that renewable energy power that can be supplied at the charging spot 2 is used preferentially, thereby suppressing delays and reducing environmental loads.

[0047] Furthermore, the operation plan determination unit 13 determines whether the renewable energy ratio to be complied with is met based on the renewable energy requirement information corresponding to each vehicle 41. If the renewable energy ratio to be complied with is not met, the operation plan determination unit 13 assigns environmental value to the non-renewable energy electricity used to charge the vehicle 41 through at least one of the procurement of non-fossil fuel certificates and emissions trading. The environmental value is assigned by allocating the procured environmental value, but this is not limited thereto. The environmental value may be procured after the amount of environmental value to be procured is determined. In this embodiment, even if the renewable energy ratio cannot be met with the electricity actually used for charging, the renewable energy ratio requirement can be met by assigning the environmental value. Furthermore, the operation plan determination unit 13 includes a plan correction unit 14, which updates the operation plan when a specified review condition is met. Details of the method for determining the operation plan will be described later.

[0048] The operation plan output unit 15 outputs the operation plan received from the operation plan determination unit 13. For example, the operation plan output unit 15 may transmit the operation plan to the vehicle management system 42 or may display the operation plan. Furthermore, the operation plan output unit 15 may both transmit and display the operation plan. Furthermore, the operation plan output unit 15 may transmit the operation plan to the charging management device 24. Furthermore, the operation plan output unit 15 may transmit a charging schedule for each charging spot 2 in the operation plan to the charging management device 24. Furthermore, while FIG. 1 illustrates an example in which the operation plan is transmitted to the vehicle 41 via the vehicle management system 42, the present invention is not limited to this example. The operation plan output unit 15 may also transmit the operation plan to the vehicle 41.

[0049] The procurement processing unit 16 performs procurement processing for procuring environmental value. For example, the procurement processing unit 16 creates a procurement schedule for non-fossil fuel certificates to be procured from the environmental value trading system 6, generates procurement request information including a requested amount of non-fossil fuel certificates to be procured based on the procurement schedule, and transmits the generated procurement request information to the environmental value trading system 6 via the information acquisition unit 12. The procurement request information is information for performing trading processing with the environmental value trading system 6 and includes, for example, information indicating the procurement amount of certificates, i.e., the transaction amount desired to be purchased. The information acquisition unit 12 stores information regarding the certificates procured through trading from the environmental value trading system 6 as certificate information in the information storage unit 11. The environmental value trading system 6 may be, but is not limited to, a renewable energy value trading market, an Advanced Energy Management Act obligation fulfillment market, a J-Credit trading market, or the like. Although an example of procuring certificates from a trading market is described here, certificates may also be procured through bilateral contracts, i.e., bilateral transactions. Furthermore, if the environmental requirement information is defined as the amount of carbon dioxide emissions, the procurement processing unit 16 may perform processing to reduce the amount of carbon dioxide emissions through emissions trading. Note that, although an example in which each transaction is conducted electronically is shown here, each transaction is not limited to electronic trading.

[0050] The procurement processing unit 16 performs procurement processing to procure certificates corresponding to the reporting system corresponding to the renewable energy requirement information corresponding to each vehicle 41. Therefore, if the reporting system differs depending on the vehicle 41, a certificate corresponding to each reporting system is procured. The procurement schedule may be input by an operator, or the procurement processing unit 16 may create the procurement schedule based on the required amount of non-fossil fuel certificates in the past (the actual allocation of non-fossil fuel certificates). Market transactions of non-fossil fuel certificates may have limited transaction timing, so it may be difficult to procure the amount required to satisfy the renewable energy ratio for each operation, for example. Therefore, a procurement schedule may be created taking into account the validity period of the certificates, so that the amount that can be allocated to each vehicle 41 within the validity period is procured, and the procurement processing unit 16 may procure the certificates according to the procurement schedule. This allows the traffic management system 1 to allocate the procured certificates (part or all of the amount certified by the certificate (electricity amount or carbon dioxide emission reduction amount)) to each vehicle 41 as needed.

[0051] Although an example has been described in which the traffic management system 1 performs the procurement process for non-fossil fuel certificates, a device other than the traffic management system 1 may perform the procurement process for non-fossil fuel certificates. For example, a request may be made to an electricity retailer with which the charging spot 2 has a contract to procure the certificates on its behalf. In this case, the traffic management system 1 may transmit the amount of certificates to be procured to a system managed by the electricity retailer, and the system may perform the procurement process for non-fossil fuel certificates and transmit information about the procured certificates to the traffic management system 1. The device that performs the procurement process for non-fossil fuel certificates is not limited to these.

[0052] Furthermore, when surplus power is generated in the renewable energy power generation facility 22 of the charging spot 2, the surplus power may be certificated. In this case, information on the certificate corresponding to the surplus power of the renewable energy power generation facility 22 may also be stored in the information storage unit 11 as certificate information.

[0053] 4 is a diagram showing an example configuration of a vehicle 41 according to this embodiment. The vehicle 41 includes, for example, a transmitter / receiver 411, a display device 412, an advertising unit 413, a battery control device 414, a storage battery 415, and a location identification unit 416. The storage battery 415 is a secondary battery that stores power used to drive the vehicle 41. The battery control device 414 controls charging and discharging of the storage battery 415 and manages the state of the storage battery 415. In this way, the vehicle 41 according to this embodiment includes the storage battery 415. The charger 21 charges the storage battery 415 via the battery control device 414.

[0054] The transmitter / receiver 411 communicates with other devices. For example, the transmitter / receiver 411 acquires the SOC, SOH, and the like of the storage battery 415 from the storage battery control device 414, and transmits vehicle status information including a vehicle ID, which is identification information of the vehicle 41, and information indicating the remaining charge of the storage battery 415, to the vehicle management system 42. The transmitter / receiver 411 also receives an operation plan from the vehicle management system 42 and outputs the received operation plan to the display device 412.

[0055] The display device 412 displays the operation plan. This allows the driver of the vehicle 41 to check the operation plan and drive, charge, and so on, the vehicle 41 in accordance with the operation plan. The vehicle management system 42 may also transmit the operation plan to a mobile terminal (not shown) carried by the driver of the vehicle 41, in which case the mobile terminal displays the operation plan.

[0056] The advertising unit 413 advertises advertising information, which is information about the environmental impact of the vehicle 41, such as the renewable energy ratio and carbon dioxide emissions. For example, the advertising unit 413 displays the advertising information so that it can be viewed by people outside the vehicle 41. For example, the advertising unit 413 is a display or the like provided on the outside of the vehicle 41, receives advertising information from the vehicle management system 42 or the operation management system 1 via the transceiver 411, and displays the received information. The advertising information includes, for example, at least one of the actual renewable energy ratio of the vehicle 41, the planned renewable energy ratio of the vehicle 41 (the planned renewable energy ratio reflecting the determined operation plan), and the required renewable energy ratio (target value) of the vehicle 41. Furthermore, the advertising unit 413 is not limited to a display or the like, and may be a lamp, sticker, or plate. By displaying the advertising information so that it can be viewed by people outside the vehicle 41, the business operator can externally promote its efforts to reduce environmental impact. 4 illustrates an example in which the advertising unit 413 is provided in the vehicle 41, but the invention is not limited to this. The advertising unit 413 may be provided in a location other than the vehicle 41, such as an office of a business operator or a bus stop (if the vehicle 41 is a bus). For example, a display device including the transmitting / receiving unit 411 and the advertising unit 413 may be provided in a location other than the vehicle 41. The advertising unit 413 may be provided both in the vehicle 41 and in a location other than the vehicle 41.

[0057] The position identifying unit 416 identifies the position of the vehicle 41. The position identifying unit 416 is realized using, but is not limited to, a GPS receiver that performs GPS (Global Positioning System) positioning. The transmitter / receiver 411 may transmit position information indicating the position of the vehicle 41 identified by the position identifying unit 416 to the vehicle management system 42. The position information may be included in the vehicle status information or may be transmitted separately from the vehicle status information.

[0058] Figure 4 shows an example in which vehicle 41 is a manually driven vehicle driven by a driver, but vehicle 41 may also be an automatically driven vehicle, in which case vehicle 41 is equipped with a driving control unit that controls the driving of vehicle 41 by automatic driving based on an operation plan.

[0059] The operation mode of vehicle 41 in this embodiment may be a chartered flight, a dedicated flight, or a mixed-load flight, for example, traveling from one delivery base to another, or a combination of these. In the case of a mixed-load flight, delivery from the delivery origin to the delivery destination may be performed by multiple vehicles. For example, a first vehicle may transport goods from the delivery origin to a first delivery base, a second vehicle may transport goods from the first delivery base to a second delivery base, and a third vehicle may transport goods from the second delivery base to a third delivery base.

[0060] The vehicle 41 travels, for example, on a route that includes an expressway, but is not limited to this. An example in which the vehicle 41 travels on a route that includes an expressway will be described below. When the vehicle 41 travels on a route that includes an expressway, only the expressway section may be the subject of creating an operation plan, or the entire route from the departure point to the destination of one trip may be the subject of creating an operation plan.

[0061] Next, the operation of this embodiment will be described. Fig. 5 is a sequence diagram showing an example of the overall processing of this embodiment. The charging management device 24 transmits supply amount prediction information to the traffic management system 1 (step S1). As described above, the supply amount prediction information is information that indicates, for each time period, the predicted value of the renewable energy supply amount at each managed charging spot 2. The supply amount prediction information includes the predicted value for the planning period of the operation plan. Although Fig. 5 shows one charging management device 24, the charging management devices 24 at multiple managed charging spots 2 similarly transmit supply amount prediction information to the traffic management system 1.

[0062] The vehicle 41 transmits vehicle status information to the vehicle management system 42 (step S2), and the vehicle management system 42 transmits vehicle charging information based on the vehicle status information to the traffic management system 1 (step S3). In detail, as described above, the vehicle management system 42 generates vehicle charging information using the vehicle ID and information indicating the remaining capacity of the storage battery 415 included in the vehicle status information, and stored information such as the renewable energy ratio and renewable energy request information, and transmits the generated vehicle charging information to the traffic management system 1. Note that while FIG. 5 illustrates one vehicle 41, there may be multiple vehicles 41. Also, while FIG. 5 illustrates one vehicle management system 42, there may be multiple vehicle management systems 42.

[0063] The shipper system 5 transmits the request information to the vehicle management system 42 (step S4), and the vehicle management system 42 transmits operation request information including the vehicle ID of the assigned vehicle 41 to the operation management system 1 (step S5). Although one shipper system 5 is illustrated in Fig. 5, there may be multiple shipper systems 5. Furthermore, the request information includes a request for delivery during the planning period, and information regarding multiple deliveries may be included in one piece of request information, or request information may be transmitted for each delivery.

[0064] As described above, the vehicle management system 42 assigns the vehicle 41 to the delivery corresponding to the request information, and generates operation request information using the assignment result and the request information. The departure point in the operation request information is the departure point of the operation section for which the operation plan is created by the operation management system 1, and may be the transportation start location (of the transportation target) in the request information, or a location other than the transportation start location (of the transportation target). Similarly, the arrival point is the end point of the operation section for which the operation plan is created, and may be the transportation end location (of the transportation target) in the request information, or a location other than the transportation end location (of the transportation target). For example, the section where the vehicle 41 travels on a highway may be the operation section for which the operation plan is created.

[0065] 6 and 7 are diagrams showing examples of operation sections for which an operation plan is created in this embodiment. FIG. 6 shows an example in which the operation section from the transportation start location to the transportation end location is the operation section for which an operation plan is created, and FIG. 7 shows an example in which the expressway section of the operation section from the transportation start location to the transportation end location is the operation section for which an operation plan is created. Charging points B to D shown in FIGS. 6 and 7 correspond to charging spots 2-1 to 2-3, respectively, and the vehicle 41 is charged at one of these. In the example shown in FIG. 6, the transportation start location coincides with the departure point A, and the transportation end location coincides with the destination E. In the example shown in FIG. 7, the transportation start location A does not coincide with the departure point, and the transportation end location E does not coincide with the destination.

[0066] In the example shown in Figure 7, the departure time is the expected passing time of the interchange where the vehicle 41 enters the expressway, and the arrival time is the expected passing time of the interchange where the vehicle 41 exits the expressway. The expected passing time of the interchange where the vehicle 41 exits the expressway is calculated backward from the arrival time at the transportation end location, for example. When the departure time from the transportation start location is specified with a range in the request information, the departure time for the operation section for which an operation plan is to be created is also set with a similar range. When the arrival time at the transportation end location is specified with a range in the request information, the arrival time for the operation section for which an operation plan is to be created is also set with a similar range.

[0067] In the example shown in FIG. 7 , the vehicle management system 42 may determine the departure time at the start point and the arrival time at the end point of the operation section for which the operation plan is to be created. In this case, the vehicle management system 42 includes, in the operation request information, the destination, departure point, departure time, and arrival time corresponding to the operation section for which the operation plan is to be created. Also, in the example shown in FIG. 7 , the operation management system 1 may determine the departure time at the start point and the arrival time at the end point of the operation section for which the operation plan is to be created. In this case, the vehicle management system 42 includes, in the operation request information, the transportation start location, transportation end location, departure time from the transportation start location, and arrival time at the transportation end location as the destination, departure point, departure time, and arrival time. Then, the operation plan determination unit 13 of the operation management system 1 determines the destination, departure point, departure time, and arrival time corresponding to the operation section for which the operation plan is to be created. Note that the transportation start location and transportation end location in the operation request information are used to determine the departure point and destination, and therefore the operation request information including the transportation start location and transportation end location is also information indicating the departure point and destination.

[0068] The operation request information may include the driving route of the vehicle 41. For example, if the business operator managing the vehicle 41 wants to specify not only the departure point and destination but also the driving route, the operation request information includes the driving route.

[0069] Returning to the description of FIG. 5 , the traffic management system 1 determines an operation plan based on the operation request information, charging spot information, supply amount prediction information, and vehicle charging information (step S6). The procedure for determining the operation plan will be described later. The traffic management system 1 transmits the determined operation plan and certificate allocation information to the vehicle management system 42 (step S7). If a non-fossil fuel certificate is allocated in determining the operation plan, the traffic management system 1 transmits the certificate allocation information together with the operation plan to the vehicle management system 42 in step S7. Upon receiving the operation plan, the vehicle management system 42 transmits the operation plan to the vehicle 41 (step S8). The vehicle management system 42 may transmit the operation plan to a mobile terminal (not shown) carried by the driver of the vehicle 41. Alternatively, the traffic management system 1 may transmit the operation plan to the vehicle 41 or a mobile terminal carried by the driver of the vehicle 41. Alternatively, the traffic management system 1 may transmit the operation plan to the charging management device 24.

[0070] The driver of the vehicle 41 drives the vehicle 41 according to the operation plan and charges the vehicle 41 at the charging spot 2 indicated in the operation plan (step S9). The charging management device 24, which manages the charger 21 where the vehicle 41 has charged, transmits charging history information to the vehicle management system 42 (step S10). The vehicle management system 42 updates the renewable energy ratio using the charging history information (step S11). In detail, the vehicle management system 42 updates the renewable energy ratio and the integrated value of the charging amount for each vehicle 41 using the stored renewable energy ratio and integrated value of the charging amount and the charging history information. Furthermore, when the vehicle management system 42 receives certificate allocation information together with the operation plan from the operation management system 1, it further updates the renewable energy ratio and the integrated value of the charging amount using the certificate allocation information.

[0071] It should be noted that with respect to a non-managed charging spot 2, it may not be possible to acquire charging history information from the charging management device 24. In this case, if the renewable energy ratio of the electricity used for charging at the charging spot 2 is known, the vehicle management system 42 calculates the charging amount by determining the amount of change in the vehicle state information acquired from the vehicle 41, and updates the renewable energy ratio and the integrated value of the charging amount using the renewable energy ratio of the electricity used for charging at the charging spot 2, the calculated charging amount, and the stored integrated values ​​of the renewable energy ratio and charging amount.

[0072] As described above, the calculation and storage of the integrated value of the renewable energy ratio and the charging amount may be performed by a device other than the vehicle management system 42, in which case step S11 is performed by a device other than the vehicle management system 42.

[0073] Furthermore, in order to procure a non-fossil certificate, the operation management system 1 transmits procurement request information to the environmental value trading system 6 (step S12) and receives certificate information from the environmental value trading system 6 (step S13). The operation management system 1 stores the received certificate information. Note that steps S12 and S13 are performed after the operation plan is transmitted, but this is not limiting, and steps S12 and S13 may be performed according to the timing at which a transaction is made in the environmental value trading system 6. Furthermore, as described above, a bilateral transaction may be made, and there are no particular restrictions on the timing at which the bilateral transaction is made.

[0074] Next, a method for determining an operation plan in this embodiment will be described. In this embodiment, for example, the following power is considered to be renewable energy power. (1-1) Renewable energy power generated by the renewable energy power generation facility 22 of the managed charging spot 2. (1-2) Power obtained by discharging renewable energy power stored in the power storage facility 23 by the renewable energy power generation facility 22 of the managed charging spot 2. (2-1) Power purchased together with a certificate from a sales company that sells power to the managed charging spot 2. (2-2) Power obtained by discharging power stored in the power storage facility 23 using power purchased together with a certificate from a sales company that sells power to the managed charging spot 2. (3) Power sold as renewable energy power at a non-managed charging spot 2. (4) Procured non-renewable energy power with a certificate.

[0075] In addition, in this embodiment, the following electric power is considered to be non-renewable energy electric power. (5-1) Electric power (without certificate) purchased from a sales company that sells electric power to a charging spot 2 that is a management target. (5-2) Electric power obtained by discharging electric power stored in the electric storage facility 23 using electric power (without certificate) purchased from a sales company that sells electric power to a charging spot 2 that is a management target. (6) Electric power sold as non-renewable energy electric power at a charging spot 2 that is not a management target.

[0076] In this embodiment, the charging spot 2 for charging the vehicle 41 is selected so that (1-1) is used as the highest priority for charging the vehicle 41. This makes it possible to suppress delays in the arrival of the vehicle 41 while suppressing environmental loads, and also to suppress costs. Furthermore, if a reverse power flow occurs due to the occurrence of a surplus of renewable energy power generated by the renewable energy power generation facility 22, which serves as a distributed power source, this may affect the stability of the power grid 3. For this reason, in order to stabilize the power grid 3, it is desirable to use the renewable energy power of (1-1) as much as possible for charging the vehicle 41.

[0077] Furthermore, the use of renewable energy power stored in the power storage facility 23 in (1-2) above also offers advantages similar to those in (1-1). Generally, power consumers who own renewable energy power generation facilities 22 also own power storage facilities 23 for storing surplus power generated by the renewable energy power generation facilities 22. While this power storage facility 23 can be used, installing a new power storage facility 23 is more costly than in (1-1). Furthermore, it is necessary to provide a power storage facility 23 that stores only the power generated by the renewable energy power generation facility 22. For example, if the power storage facility 23 is installed at the charging spot 2 for both the purpose of purchasing power during times when electricity rates are low and using power during times when electricity rates are high, and the purpose of storing surplus power generated by the renewable energy power generation facility 22, the amount of power stored from renewable energy power and the amount of power stored from non-renewable energy power are managed separately, and the vehicle 41 is charged within the range of the amount of power stored from renewable energy power.

[0078] For the above reasons, in the present embodiment, the priority for charging the vehicle 41 is (1-1) with the highest priority (highest priority), followed by (1-2). However, for (1-2), it is necessary to control the power storage equipment 23 at the charging spot 2. Generally, at the charging spot 2, the charge management device 24 creates a charge / discharge plan for the power storage equipment 23. Therefore, if this charge / discharge plan cannot be changed by instructions from the traffic management system 1, (1-2) cannot be expected as a planned value. Therefore, if the charge / discharge plan for the power storage equipment 23 can be changed by instructions from the traffic management system 1, the traffic management system 1 determines a charging schedule for the vehicle 41 taking (1-2) into consideration. Note that if the charge / discharge plan for the power storage equipment 23 can be changed, the charge management device 24 notifies the traffic management system 1 of the amount by which the change can be made.

[0079] Furthermore, for routes other than (1-1) and (1-2), the priority differs depending on priority criteria, such as whether to prioritize charging using renewable energy, cost, or preventing delays in arrival time. Constraints may also be set for the priority criteria. For example, a priority criterion may be set such that cost is prioritized under the constraint of satisfying a requirement regarding the renewable energy ratio. The priority criteria may be set for each business operator, each vehicle 41, or each operation, and the operation plan determination unit 13 may determine the priority of the electricity used to charge the vehicle 41 based on the priority criteria and select a charging spot 2 for charging the vehicle 41 based on the priority.

[0080] For example, (2-1), (2-2), (3), and (4) all require costs such as purchasing electricity and procuring certificates, so these costs generally need to be taken into consideration. For example, (5-1), (5-2), and (6) are generally cheaper than (2-1), (2-2), (3), and (4). Therefore, for example, if the traffic management system 1 prioritizes cost while constraining the requirement for renewable energy ratio, the next highest priority after (1-1) and (1-2) is the cheapest electricity among (5-1), (5-2), and (6), as long as it satisfies the renewable energy ratio. On the other hand, if priority is given to charging using renewable energy, the next highest priority after (1-1) and (1-2) is any of (2-1), (2-2), (3), and (4). Note that for charging spots 2 that are not subject to management, not only electricity with a 100% renewable energy ratio or non-renewable energy electricity, but also a renewable energy ratio such as 50% renewable energy ratio may be presented. In this case, the priority of the charging spot 2 may be determined based on the renewable energy ratio, the cost required for charging, etc. in accordance with the priority criteria.

[0081] FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing an example of an operation plan determination processing procedure in the operation plan determination unit 13 according to the present embodiment. As shown in FIG. 8 , the operation plan determination unit 13 acquires operation request information, charging spot information, supply amount prediction information, and vehicle charging information (step S20). Specifically, the operation plan determination unit 13 receives the operation request information, supply amount prediction information, and vehicle charging information from the information acquisition unit 12 and reads out the charging spot information from the information storage unit 11, thereby acquiring the operation request information, charging spot information, supply amount prediction information, and vehicle charging information. The operation plan determination unit 13 may also read out the operation request information, supply amount prediction information, and vehicle charging information from the information storage unit 11. The operation request information takes into account a standard traveling speed and a standard required time for charging for one operation, depending on the distance from the departure point to the destination. The departure time and arrival time are set so that the vehicle will arrive at the arrival time if it departs at the departure time.

[0082] The operation plan determination unit 13 selects a temporary charging location for the vehicle 41 (step S21). That is, the operation plan determination unit 13 determines a temporary charging schedule including temporary charging locations, charging start times, and charging end times for the vehicle 41. Specifically, for example, the operation plan determination unit 13 determines a driving route for each vehicle 41 by using the departure point and destination in the operation request information and the map information stored in the information storage unit 11. Note that if the operation request information includes a driving route, the operation plan determination unit 13 does not need to determine the driving route. Based on the vehicle charging information and the driving route, the operation plan determination unit 13 estimates points where charging is expected to be required for each vehicle 41, and prioritizes charging spots 2 that are capable of charging within the range of renewable energy supply among charging spots 2 under management that are in the vicinity of the estimated points as temporary charging locations.

[0083] Specifically, for example, for a certain vehicle 41, the operation plan determination unit 13 uses the SOC at the departure point and the traveling route to determine a limit point, which is a point where the SOC is predicted to be equal to or lower than a predetermined first value, and an arrival time at the limit point. Then, if there is a charging spot 2 that is located before the limit point (toward the departure point) and within a certain distance from the limit point and that can charge the vehicle 41 with the remaining renewable energy supply amount (the renewable energy supply amount indicated by the supply amount prediction information minus the amount allocated to charging other vehicles 41), the operation plan determination unit 13 selects the charging spot 2 as a tentative charging location. Then, the operation plan determination unit 13 determines the charging start time, charging end time, and charge amount using the predicted SOC of the vehicle 41 immediately before charging, the capacity of the storage battery 415 of the vehicle 41, the traveling route, and the traveling speed, and updates the remaining renewable energy supply amount by subtracting an amount corresponding to the charge amount from the remaining renewable energy supply amount for the corresponding time period at the charging spot 2. By repeating this process for each vehicle 41, a charging spot 2 for charging is provisionally determined for each vehicle 41 that can be charged within the range of the renewable energy supply amount.

[0084] Furthermore, if there is a charging spot 2 that can charge the vehicle 41 with the remaining renewable energy supply by shifting the charging time zone to a later time, the operation plan determination unit 13 delays the arrival time within the requested range of departure time and arrival time or makes the vehicle 41 wait at the charging spot 2, and selects the charging spot 2 as a temporary charging location. Furthermore, if the driving route can be changed, and there is a charging spot 2 that can charge the vehicle 41 with the remaining renewable energy supply by driving on another driving route, the driving route may be changed and the charging spot 2 may be selected as a temporary charging location for the vehicle 41.

[0085] The operation plan determination unit 13 may determine the temporary charging locations in descending order of the renewable energy ratio of the vehicles 41 in the renewable energy request information. This allows the operation plan determination unit 13 to preferentially allocate the renewable energy supply amount to charging of the vehicles 41 that have a high request for the renewable energy ratio. Furthermore, a priority order for determining the temporary charging locations may be set for each business operator.

[0086] The operation plan determination unit 13 determines whether all target vehicles can be charged within the range that can be charged with the renewable energy supply amount of the managed spot, which is the managed charging spot 2 (step S22). Specifically, the operation plan determination unit 13 determines whether, by selecting the temporary charging location in step S21, the managed charging spot 2 has been selected as the charging location for all vehicles 41 for which an operation plan is to be created, and whether the renewable energy supply amount has been allocated to charging the vehicles 41.

[0087] If all target vehicles can be charged within the range that can be charged with the renewable energy supply amount of the management target spot (Yes in step S22), the operation plan determination unit 13 determines an operation plan for charging the vehicles within the range of the renewable energy supply amount of the management target spot (step S23). Specifically, the operation plan determination unit 13 determines a charging schedule for charging with the tentative charging location, charging start time, and charging end time selected in step S21, and determines an operation plan that includes the determined charging schedule.

[0088] Next, the operation plan determination unit 13 outputs the operation plan to the operation plan output unit 15 (step S24), and ends the processing. As a result, the operation plan output unit 15 transmits the operation plan to the vehicle management system 42.

[0089] If there is a vehicle 41 that cannot be charged within the range possible with the renewable energy supply amount of the managed charging spot (No in step S22), the operation plan determination unit 13 determines whether the renewable energy supply amount can be changed (step S25). For example, although the amount of power generated by the renewable energy power generation facility 22 cannot be adjusted, if the power storage facility 23 is charged with renewable energy power generated by the renewable energy power generation facility 22, the power discharging from the power storage facility 23 can also be treated as renewable energy power. Therefore, for a charging spot 2 that charges the power storage facility 23 only with renewable energy power, the renewable energy supply amount may be changed by changing the charge / discharge plan for the power storage facility 23. For example, the supply amount prediction information may include changeability information indicating whether the renewable energy supply amount can be increased, and the operation plan output unit 15 determines whether the renewable energy supply amount can be changed (increased) for each managed charging spot 2 based on the changeability information. Furthermore, the charging management device 24 includes information indicating the changeable amount, which is the renewable energy supply amount that can be increased, in the changeability information. If there is at least one charging spot 2 under management that can change the renewable energy supply amount, the operation plan output unit 15 determines Yes in step S25.

[0090] If the renewable energy supply amount cannot be changed (No in step S25), the operation plan determination unit 13 determines an operation plan that also uses power other than renewable energy power supplied by the managed spots (step S26). In step S26, for example, for a vehicle 41 for which a charging spot 2 that can be charged with the remaining renewable energy supply amount could not be selected, the operation plan output unit 15 selects, as a charging location, a charging spot 2 from among charging spots 2 that are located before the limit point and within a certain distance from the limit point. The charging spots 2 that are candidates for the charging location of the vehicle 41 include managed charging spots 2. In this case, charging is performed using power supplied from the power grid 3 at the managed charging spots 2.

[0091] For example, based on the charge spot information, the operation plan determination unit 13 may select, as a temporary charging location, the charge spot 2 with the highest renewable energy ratio from among the charge spots 2 located before the limit point and within a certain distance from the limit point. Alternatively, based on the charge spot information, the operation plan determination unit 13 may select, as a temporary charging location, the charge spot 2 with the lowest charging cost from among the charge spots 2 located before the limit point and within a certain distance from the limit point, or may select the charge spot 2 closest to the limit point as a temporary charging location. Alternatively, the operation plan determination unit 13 may select a charge spot 2 as a temporary charging location by a method other than these. Furthermore, charge spots 2 with a high renewable energy ratio may be preferentially assigned to vehicles 41 with a high required renewable energy ratio.

[0092] Next, the operation plan determination unit 13 determines whether the renewable energy requirement is satisfied (step S27). Specifically, the operation plan determination unit 13 calculates, for each vehicle 41, the renewable energy ratio when charging is performed according to the determined operation plan, based on the operation plan determined in step S26 and the renewable energy ratio (actual value of the renewable energy ratio) and the integrated value of the charging amount in the vehicle charging information. Then, the operation plan determination unit 13 determines whether the calculated renewable energy ratio satisfies the renewable energy ratio indicated in the renewable energy requirement information in the vehicle charging information, i.e., the required value of the renewable energy ratio. If there is even one vehicle 41 that does not satisfy the renewable energy requirement, the operation plan determination unit 13 determines No in step S27.

[0093] Note that with regard to the power supplied from the power grid 3 to the managed charging spots 2, the power may be sold together with a certificate by the power sales company that sells the power. Therefore, in steps S26 and S27, the operation plan determination unit 13 may select a charging spot 2 to charge the vehicle 41, taking into consideration charging with such certified power. Because certified power is generally expensive, the operation plan determination unit 13 may select a charging spot 2 in step S26, taking into consideration this cost. Furthermore, if certified power is stored in the power storage facility 23 at the charging spot 2, the operation plan determination unit 13 may select a charging spot 2 in step S26, taking into consideration the use of power obtained by discharging the power storage facility 23.

[0094] If the renewable energy requirement is satisfied (Yes in step S27), the operation plan determination unit 13 proceeds to step S24 and outputs the operation plan determined in step S26 to the operation plan output unit 15.

[0095] Furthermore, if the result of step S25 is Yes, the operation plan determination unit 13 outputs an instruction to change the renewable energy supply amount to the operation plan output unit 15 (step S28), and repeats the processing from step S22. In step S28, for example, the operation plan determination unit 13 generates a change instruction to instruct a change by the change amount in the changeability information, and outputs the change instruction to the operation plan output unit 15. As a result, the operation plan output unit 15 transmits the change instruction to the corresponding charging management device 24. Upon receiving the change instruction, the charging management device 24 changes the charge / discharge plan based on the received change instruction.

[0096] Also, if the result of step S27 is No, the operation plan determination unit 13 allocates certificates (step S29). Specifically, based on the certificate information stored in the information storage unit 11, the operation plan determination unit 13 allocates procured certificates to the vehicles 41 so that the renewable energy ratio of the vehicles 41 that do not satisfy the renewable energy requirement satisfies the renewable energy requirement. That is, the operation plan determination unit 13 allocates certificates to the vehicles 41 for the amount of charging by renewable energy (electricity amount) that is insufficient because the renewable energy ratio of the vehicles 41 satisfies the renewable energy requirement, and generates certificate allocation information indicating the allocation result. At this time, based on the reporting system corresponding to each vehicle 41 or each business operator, the operation plan determination unit 13 allocates certificates of a type corresponding to the reporting system to the vehicles 41. Also, if there are insufficient procured certificates to allocate to the vehicles 41, the operation plan determination unit 13 instructs the procurement processing unit 16 to procure certificates, and stores information on the certificates to be procured in the certificate allocation information.

[0097] Next, the operation plan determination unit 13 outputs the operation plan and the certificate allocation information to the operation plan output unit 15 (step S30), and ends the processing. The operation plan output unit 15 transmits the operation plan and the certificate allocation information to the corresponding vehicle management system 42.

[0098] The processing procedure shown in FIG. 8 is an example, and the operation plan determination unit 13 may select a charge spot 2 at which to charge the vehicle 41, taking into account priority criteria specified by the business operator or the like. The specific processing procedure is not limited to the example shown in FIG. 8 . For example, a charging schedule may be determined by defining constraints and an evaluation function without predetermining priorities and solving an optimization problem. For example, if the priority criteria prioritize renewable energy, the operation plan determination unit 13 may use the renewable energy ratio as the evaluation function and determine the charge spot 2, the charging start time, and the charging end time so as to maximize the evaluation function, with the constraints being that (1-1) and (1-2) are prioritized and that the vehicle arrives without delay at the arrival time. Furthermore, if the priority criteria prioritize cost while satisfying the renewable energy ratio, the operation plan determination unit 13 may use cost as the evaluation function and determine the charge spot 2, the charging start time, and the charging end time so as to minimize the evaluation function. In this case, the operation plan determination unit 13 sets the constraints as satisfying the renewable energy requirement, prioritizing (1-1) and (1-2), and arriving without delay at the arrival time.

[0099] Next, a specific example of the selection of a charging spot 2 according to the present embodiment will be described. Fig. 9 is a diagram showing an example of supply amount prediction information according to the present embodiment. In the example shown in Fig. 9, the supply amount prediction information includes the renewable energy supply amount for each time slot in 30-minute increments, but the unit time in the supply amount prediction information is not limited to 30 minutes.

[0100] FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating the selection of a charge spot 2 in this embodiment. In FIG. 10, charge spots 2-1 and 2-2 indicated by unhatched rectangles are charge spots 2 to be managed, and charge spots 2-3 and 2-4 indicated by hatched rectangles are charge spots 2 not to be managed. The left side of the paper is the departure side of vehicle 41, and the right side of the paper is the destination side of vehicle 41. For example, in determining the provisional charge location in step S21 described above, assume that vehicle #1 is vehicle 41 whose limit point at which charging is required is point Z1, and vehicle #2 is vehicle 41 whose limit point at which charging is required is point Z2.

[0101] In this case, for example, suppose that a managed charge spot 2-1 is located within a certain distance from point Z2, which is further away than point Z1, and that the scheduled time that vehicle #1 and vehicle #2 will pass charge spot 2-1 is 10:00. According to the supply amount forecast information shown in FIG. 9 , the renewable energy supply amount of charge spot 2-1 from 10:00 to 10:30 is 30 kWh, of which 25 kWh has already been allocated to charging another vehicle 41. In this case, if the renewable energy ratio required for vehicle #2 is higher than the renewable energy ratio required for vehicle #1, for example, the operation plan determination unit 13 prioritizes the allocation of renewable energy power to vehicle #2. As a result, for example, the operation plan determination unit 13 selects charge spot 2-1 as the charging location for vehicle #2 and selects charge spot 2-3 as the charging location for vehicle #1. In this case, if the renewable energy supply at charging spot 2-2 is large, the amount of charge for vehicle #1 at charging spot 2-3 may be set to the minimum amount necessary to reach charging spot 2-2, and vehicle #1 may be charged at charging spot 2-2. The examples described in Figures 9 and 10 are merely examples, and the specific method for selecting a charging location may be determined appropriately according to the priority criteria and is not limited to these examples.

[0102] In addition, if there is a vehicle 41 for which the renewable energy ratio is not managed and the renewable energy ratio is unknown among the vehicles 41 for which the operation plan is to be created, the operation management system 1 may determine the operation plan by assuming that the vehicle 41 has been charged with non-renewable energy power up to that point. That is, the operation management system 1 may determine the operation plan by assuming that the renewable energy ratio of the vehicle 41 is 0 (0%). For example, it is assumed that the integrated value of the charging amount during the period corresponding to the renewable energy request is known, and that the integrated value of the charging amount is entirely charged with non-renewable energy power. The integrated value of the charging amount may be estimated, for example, based on the mileage and electricity cost during the period corresponding to the renewable energy request of the vehicle 41.

[0103] Fig. 11 is a flowchart showing an example of a processing procedure in the traffic management system 1 of this embodiment when there is a vehicle 41 whose renewable energy ratio is unknown. Step S20 is the same as the example shown in Fig. 8. The operation plan determination unit 13 sets the renewable energy ratio of the vehicle whose renewable energy ratio is unknown to 0 (step S40). The processing from step S21 onwards is the same as the example shown in Fig. 8. As a result, even for vehicles 41 whose renewable energy ratio is not managed, certificates will be procured so that the renewable energy ratio is satisfied.

[0104] Furthermore, in the above example, a case was described in which the renewable energy ratio was completely unknown, but in cases where an approximate value of the renewable energy ratio is known, for example, the renewable energy ratio is not known exactly but is between 20% and 40%, the minimum value of the approximate value, or a value obtained by subtracting a certain amount from the minimum value of the approximate value, may be set as the renewable energy ratio of the vehicle 41 in question.

[0105] Furthermore, after creating an operation plan, the operation management system 1 may not be able to operate according to the operation plan due to factors such as weather changes and traffic congestion, changes in the request from the shipper, etc. For example, if the operation plan for the next day is decided the day before, on the day itself, the vehicle 41 may not be able to arrive at the planned charging spot 2 at the planned time due to factors such as traffic congestion. Also, on the day itself, bad weather may prevent the renewable energy supply amount in the supply amount forecast information from being supplied.

[0106] In this embodiment, when the review condition is satisfied, the operation plan is revised to satisfy the renewable energy requirement. This makes it possible to satisfy the renewable energy requirement even if the situation has changed since the time the operation plan was determined.

[0107] The review condition includes, but is not limited to, at least one of the following: a change in the request information; a delay of a certain amount of time or more in the travel of the vehicle 41 due to traffic congestion; and a decrease in the renewable energy supply amount by a certain amount or more from the predicted value due to a change in weather. For example, the plan correction unit 14 of the operation plan determination unit 13 determines whether the operation plan review condition is satisfied based on a change amount that is at least one of the delay time from the operation plan of the vehicle 41 and the decrease in the renewable energy supply amount indicated by the renewable energy supply power supply amount prediction information. The plan correction unit 14 uses the change amount to modify the operation plan, and for vehicles 41 that do not satisfy the renewable energy requirement in the modified operation plan, determines the required amount of environmental value by assigning environmental value so that the vehicle 41 satisfies the renewable energy requirement.

[0108] For example, if the request information is changed, the vehicle management system 42 changes the operation request information based on the change in the request information and transmits change request information indicating the change in the operation request information to the operation management system 1. Furthermore, for example, the vehicle management system 42 receives location information from the vehicle 41, identifies the occurrence of a delay by comparing the received location information with the operation plan, and, if a delay of a certain period of time or more occurs, transmits delay information including the location information of the vehicle 41 and the time corresponding to the location information to the operation management system 1. Alternatively, the driver of the vehicle 41 may input delay information by operating a portable terminal carried by the driver, and the delay information may be transmitted from the portable terminal to the vehicle management system 42, and the vehicle management system 42 may transmit the delay information received from the portable terminal to the operation management system 1. Alternatively, an operator may input delay information to the vehicle management system 42 in response to a telephone call from the driver, and the vehicle management system 42 may transmit the delay information to the operation management system 1. Also, for example, if the weather forecast information changes from the time the power supply and demand plan was created and the charging management device 24 predicts that the renewable energy supply amount has decreased or will decrease by more than a certain amount, it sends supply amount change information indicating the change in the renewable energy supply amount to the operation management system 1.

[0109] 12 is a flowchart showing an example of a procedure for correcting an operation plan according to the present embodiment. The plan correction unit 14 of the operation plan determination unit 13 determines whether a review condition is satisfied (step S41). In detail, the plan correction unit 14 determines whether at least one of change request information, delay information, supply amount change information, etc. has been received via the information acquisition unit 12, for example.

[0110] If the review condition is not satisfied (step S41: No), the plan correction unit 14 repeats step S41. If the review condition is satisfied (step S41: Yes), the plan correction unit 14 updates the operation plan by assigning a new charging location, charging time, and charging amount to the vehicle 41 whose operation plan is to be changed (step S42). In detail, for example, for a delayed vehicle 41, the plan correction unit 14 may update the operation plan by performing processing similar to steps S21 to S26 shown in FIG. 8 using delay information and the latest vehicle charging information. Alternatively, the plan correction unit 14 may update the operation plan using a procedure different from the method of determining the operation plan shown in FIG. 8 , such as assigning a charging location, charging time, and charging amount so that charging is performed at the nearest charging spot 2 just before the limit point, regardless of the remaining renewable energy supply amount and renewable energy ratio at the charging spot 2.

[0111] The plan modification unit 14 determines whether the renewable energy requirement is satisfied (Step S43), similar to Step S27 shown in Fig. 8 . If the renewable energy requirement is satisfied (Step S43: Yes), the plan modification unit 14 outputs the operation plan (updated operation plan) to the operation plan output unit 15 (Step S44), similar to Step S24 shown in Fig. 8 , and ends the processing. On the other hand, if the renewable energy requirement is not satisfied (Step S43: No), the plan modification unit 14 allocates certificates (Step S45), similar to Steps S29 and S30 shown in Fig. 8 , and outputs the operation plan (updated operation plan) and certificate allocation information to the operation plan output unit 15 (Step S46), and ends the processing.

[0112] Note that after a delay occurs, before the operation plan is updated, the SOC of vehicle 41 may approach the first value, causing the driver to charge at the nearest charge spot 2. In such a case, vehicle management system 42 may determine the charge amount based on the SOC of vehicle 41, update the renewable energy ratio of the vehicle and the integrated value of the charge amount based on the renewable energy ratio of the electricity used for charging, and transmit vehicle charging information including the updated renewable energy ratio and the integrated value of the charge amount to the operation management system 1. Note that at this time, if the charge spot 2 where vehicle 41 charged is a charge spot 2 that is managed by the vehicle management system 42, the vehicle management system 42 may obtain, for example, the renewable energy ratio of the electricity used for charging from the charge management device 24. Furthermore, if the charge spot 2 where vehicle 41 charged is a charge spot 2 that is not managed and the renewable energy ratio of the charge spot 2 is set, the vehicle management system 42 uses the renewable energy ratio. However, if the renewable energy ratio of the charge spot 2 that is not managed is unknown, the vehicle management system 42 performs processing assuming that the renewable energy ratio is 0. The traffic management system 1 may update the renewable energy ratio and the integrated value of the charging amount described above. By performing the processes from step S42 onward using the updated renewable energy ratio and the integrated value of the charging amount, the traffic management system 1 can satisfy the renewable energy requirement of the vehicle 41 even after charging at a charging spot 2 that is not scheduled for that day.

[0113] Similarly, if a change in weather causes a shortage of renewable energy supply at a managed charging spot 2, it is possible that non-renewable energy power will be used to charge a vehicle 41 that was planned to be charged with renewable energy power at the charging spot 2. In such a case, the charging management device 24 also transmits the actual value of the charge amount to the traffic management system 1, and if the vehicle 41 no longer meets the renewable energy requirement, the traffic management system 1 may allocate a certificate to cover the shortage of renewable energy.

[0114] In addition, in the example shown in Figure 1, the charging management device 24 has the function of an EMS that manages the power of the renewable energy power generation equipment 22, the storage equipment 23, and the charger 21, but this is not limited to this, and the operation management system 1 may also have the function of an EMS that manages the power of the renewable energy power generation equipment 22, the storage equipment 23, and the charger 21.

[0115] Fig. 13 is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of a vehicle operation system 100a according to this embodiment in which the operation control system has the function of an EMS. The vehicle operation system 100a shown in Fig. 13 is similar to the vehicle operation system 100 except that it includes an operation control system 1a instead of the operation control system 1. Components having the same functions as those in the example shown in Fig. 1 are assigned the same reference numerals as in Fig. 1, and redundant explanations will be omitted.

[0116] In the example shown in Fig. 13, the charging management device 24 manages the charger 21 and transmits charging record information to the traffic management system 1a in the same manner as in the example shown in Fig. 1. In the example shown in Fig. 13, the charging management device 24 does not need to create a charge / discharge plan for the power storage facility 23, and charges / discharges the power storage facility 23 in accordance with the charge / discharge plan received from the traffic management system 1a. Note that the prediction of the power generation amount of the renewable energy power generation facility 22 may be performed by the charging management device 24 or the traffic management system 1a. When the charging management device 24 predicts the power generation amount of the renewable energy power generation facility 22, the charging management device 24 transmits the predicted power generation amount result to the traffic management system 1a.

[0117] The traffic management system 1a is similar to the traffic management system 1 shown in FIG. 1 except for including a renewable energy supply amount prediction unit 17. Similar to the charge management device 24 shown in FIG. 1, the renewable energy supply amount prediction unit 17 predicts the amount of power generated by the renewable energy power generation facility 22 for each charging spot 2 and creates a charge / discharge plan for the power storage facility 23 using the prediction result and the prediction result of the amount of charge by the charger 21. The renewable energy supply amount prediction unit 17 predicts the amount of renewable energy supply for each time period at the charging spot 2 based on the amount of power generated by the renewable energy power generation facility 22 and the charge / discharge plan for the power storage facility 23, and stores the supply amount prediction information in the information storage unit 11. Note that the prediction of the amount of power generated by the renewable energy power generation facility 22 may be performed by the charge management device 24, as described above. The traffic management system 1a's operation plan determination unit 13 determines an operation plan similar to the traffic management system 1 shown in FIG. 1 using the supply amount prediction information generated by the renewable energy supply amount prediction unit 17 instead of the supply amount prediction information received from the charge management device 24. In the operation management system 1a, in step S25, the operation plan determination unit 13 inquires of the renewable energy supply amount prediction unit 17 whether or not the renewable energy supply amount can be changed, and in step S28 instructs the renewable energy supply amount prediction unit 17 to change the renewable energy supply amount.

[0118] Furthermore, the renewable energy supply amount prediction unit 17 of the operation management system 1a may once determine an operation plan, update the charge / discharge plan of the power storage equipment 23 by reflecting the charging schedule in the operation plan, and update the supply amount prediction information using the updated charge / discharge plan. This makes it possible, for example, to correct the difference between the predicted result of the charging amount and the charging amount in the charging schedule of the operation plan, thereby making it possible to create a more accurate charge / discharge plan. The charge / discharge plan created by the renewable energy supply amount prediction unit 17 is transmitted to the charge management device 24 by the operation plan output unit 15. The operation plan determination unit 13 may update the charging schedule of the vehicle 41 based on the updated supply amount prediction information, and finalize the operation plan including the updated charging schedule as the final operation plan.

[0119] Next, the hardware configuration of the traffic management systems 1 and 1a of this embodiment will be described. In the traffic management systems 1 and 1a of this embodiment, a computer program describing the processing of each of the traffic management systems 1 and 1a is executed on the computer system, so that the computer system functions as the traffic management systems 1 and 1a, respectively. FIG. 14 is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of a computer system that realizes each of the traffic management systems 1 and 1a of this embodiment. As shown in FIG. 14, this computer system includes a control unit 101, an input unit 102, a memory unit 103, a display unit 104, a communication unit 105, and an output unit 106, which are connected via a system bus 107.

[0120] In FIG. 14 , the control unit 101 is a processor such as a CPU (Central Processing Unit) that executes a program describing the processes of the traffic management system 1, 1a of this embodiment. The input unit 102 is composed of, for example, a keyboard, buttons, a mouse, etc., and is used by the user of the computer system to input various information. The memory unit 103 includes various memories such as RAM (Random Access Memory) and ROM (Read Only Memory) and a storage device such as a hard disk, and stores the programs to be executed by the control unit 101, necessary data obtained during the processing, etc. The memory unit 103 is also used as a temporary storage area for the programs. The control unit 101 and the memory unit 103, for example, constitute a processing circuit. The processing circuit may be a single circuit or multiple circuits. The display unit 104 is composed of a display, LCD (Liquid Crystal Display), etc., and displays various screens to the user of the computer system. Note that a touch panel in which the input unit 102 and the display unit 104 are integrated may also be used. The communication unit 105 is a receiver and transmitter that perform communication processing. The output unit 106 is a speaker or the like. Note that Fig. 14 is just an example, and the configuration of the computer system that realizes each of the traffic control systems 1 and 1a is not limited to the example shown in Fig. 14. For example, the output unit 106 may not be provided.

[0121] Here, an example of the operation of the computer system until the program of this embodiment is ready to be executed will be described. In the computer system having the above configuration, for example, the program is installed in storage unit 103 from a CD-ROM or DVD-ROM inserted in a CD (Compact Disc)-ROM drive or DVD (Digital Versatile Disc)-ROM drive (not shown). Then, when the program is executed, the program read from storage unit 103 is stored in the main storage area of ​​storage unit 103. In this state, control unit 101 executes the processing of each of traffic management systems 1 and 1a of this embodiment in accordance with the program stored in storage unit 103.

[0122] In the above description, a program describing the processing in each of the operation control systems 1 and 1a is provided using a CD-ROM or DVD-ROM as a recording medium, but this is not limited to this. Depending on the configuration of the computer system and the capacity of the program to be provided, for example, a program provided via a transmission medium such as the Internet via the communication unit 105 may be used.

[0123] The program of this embodiment causes a computer system to execute, for example, the steps of acquiring operation request information, selecting a charge spot 2 to charge the vehicle 41 based on the location of the charge spot 2, the operation request information, and the supply volume forecast information, and determining an operation plan for the vehicle 41 using the result of the selection of the charge spot 2.

[0124] The operation plan determination unit 13 and the procurement processing unit 16 shown in FIGS. 1 and 13 are realized by the control unit 101 shown in FIG. 14 executing a program stored in the storage unit 103 shown in FIG. 14. The storage unit 103 is also used to realize the operation plan determination unit 13 and the procurement processing unit 16. The information acquisition unit 12 and the operation plan output unit 15 shown in FIGS. 1 and 13 are realized by the communication unit 105 shown in FIG. 14. The information storage unit 11 shown in FIGS. 1 and 13 is part of the storage unit 103 shown in FIG. 14. The renewable energy supply amount prediction unit 17 shown in FIG. 13 is realized by the control unit 101 shown in FIG. 14 executing a program stored in the storage unit 103 shown in FIG. 14. The storage unit 103 is also used to realize the renewable energy supply amount prediction unit 17. The operation management systems 1 and 1a may each be realized by multiple computer systems. For example, the operation management systems 1 and 1a may be realized by a cloud computer system.

[0125] The vehicle management system 42 shown in Figures 1 and 13 may also be realized by, for example, the computer system illustrated in Figure 14. The management unit 43 shown in Figures 1 and 13 is realized by the control unit 101 shown in Figure 14 executing a program stored in the storage unit 103 shown in Figure 14. The storage unit 103 is also used to realize the management unit 43. The transmission / reception unit 44 shown in Figure 1 is realized by the communication unit 105 shown in Figure 14. The information storage unit 45 shown in Figures 1 and 13 is part of the storage unit 103 shown in Figure 14. The vehicle management system 42 may be realized by multiple computer systems. For example, the vehicle management system 42 may be realized by a cloud computer system.

[0126] 1 and 13 can also be realized by, for example, a computer system illustrated in FIG. 14.

[0127] As described above, the traffic management systems 1 and 1a of the present embodiment determine the charge spot 2 at which the vehicle 41 is charged, based on the supply amount of renewable energy power at the charge spot 2, so that renewable energy power that can be supplied at the charge spot 2 is used preferentially, and determine a traffic plan using the result of determining the charge spot 2. This makes it possible to suppress delays in the arrival of the vehicle 41 while suppressing environmental loads. Furthermore, since it is possible to promote the use of power generated by the renewable energy power generation facility 22, it is possible to suppress the impact of reverse power flow on the stabilization of the power grid 3. Furthermore, for vehicles 41 that do not satisfy their renewable energy requirements, the traffic management systems 1 and 1a procure environmental value and allocate the procured environmental value. This makes it possible to satisfy the renewable energy requirements even when the renewable energy power at the charge spot 2 alone is not sufficient to satisfy the renewable energy requirements.

[0128] The configurations shown in the above embodiments are merely examples, and may be combined with other known technologies, or different embodiments may be combined with each other. It is also possible to omit or modify parts of the configurations as long as they do not deviate from the gist of the invention.

[0129] REFERENCE SIGNS LIST 1, 1a Operation management system, 2 Charging spot, 3 Power system, 4 Business operator management subject, 5 Shipper system, 6 Environmental value trading system, 11, 45 Information storage unit, 12 Information acquisition unit, 13 Operation plan determination unit, 14 Plan correction unit, 15 Operation plan output unit, 16 Procurement processing unit, 17 Renewable energy supply prediction unit, 21 Charger, 22 Renewable energy power generation equipment, 23 Power storage equipment, 24 Charging management device, 41 Vehicle, 42 Vehicle management system, 43 Management unit, 44, 411 Transmitting / receiving unit, 100, 100a Vehicle operation system, 412 Display device, 413 Advertising unit, 414 Battery control device, 415 Battery, 416 Location identification unit.

Claims

1. A traffic management system comprising: an information acquisition unit that acquires operation request information indicating the departure point and destination of a vehicle that is an electric vehicle for business use; and an operation plan determination unit that selects a charge spot to charge the vehicle based on the locations of charge spots where chargers that can charge the vehicle are installed, the operation request information, and supply amount prediction information that indicates the predicted value of the supply of renewable energy supply power, which is electricity derived from renewable energy that can charge the vehicle at the managed charge spot, for each managed charge spot that is a managed charge spot among the charge spots, and determines an operation plan for the vehicle using the selection result of the charge spot.

2. The operation management system described in claim 1, characterized in that the operation plan determination unit selects the charging spots so as to give priority to the renewable energy supply power as the power used to charge the vehicles, and if there is a vehicle that cannot be charged within the range of the predicted value indicated by the supply amount forecast information, selects the charging spots so that the vehicle is charged with power other than the renewable energy supply power at the managed spots, or is charged at a charging spot other than the managed spots.

3. The operation management system described in claim 2, characterized in that the information acquisition unit acquires environmental requirement information indicating required values ​​for indicators related to the environmental load of the vehicle, and the operation plan determination unit determines the operation plan using the environmental requirement information.

4. The operation management system described in claim 3, characterized in that the information acquisition unit acquires the actual value of the indicator of the vehicle during the period corresponding to the required value, and the operation plan determination unit determines the operation plan using the actual value of the indicator and the environmental requirement information.

5. The operation management system according to claim 4, characterized in that the performance values ​​of the indicators of the vehicle are obtained from a vehicle management system that manages the vehicle.

6. An operation management system as described in claim 4, further comprising an information storage unit that stores the actual values ​​of the indicators of the vehicle, wherein the operation plan determination unit updates the actual values ​​of the indicators of the vehicle using the actual values ​​of the indicators of the vehicle stored in the information storage unit, the amount of charge used to charge the vehicle, and an index related to the environmental impact of the amount of charge.

7. A traffic management system as described in any one of claims 3 to 6, characterized in that the index is the ratio of electricity derived from renewable energy to the electricity used to charge the vehicle.

8. An operation management system as described in any one of claims 3 to 7, characterized in that, for a vehicle that does not satisfy the required value in the operation plan determined using the charging spot selection result, the operation plan determination unit assigns an environmental value to the electricity used to charge the vehicle so that the vehicle satisfies the required value.

9. The traffic management system according to claim 8, further comprising a procurement processing unit that performs procurement processing for procuring the environmental value.

10. The traffic management system according to claim 8 or 9, characterized in that the environmental value includes a non-fossil certificate.

11. The operation management system described in any one of claims 8 to 10, characterized in that the operation plan determination unit determines whether or not a review condition for the operation plan is met based on a change amount which is at least one of the delay time of the vehicle's operation from the operation plan and the amount of decrease in the renewable energy supply power from the predicted value, and if the review condition is met, modifies the operation plan using the change amount, and for a vehicle that does not meet the required value in the modified operation plan, assigns the environmental value to the electricity used to charge the vehicle so that the vehicle meets the required value.

12. An operation management system as described in any one of claims 3 to 11, characterized in that advertising information, which is at least one of the actual value of the indicator, the planned value of the indicator, and the required value of the indicator, is transmitted to the vehicle advertising the advertising information.

13. A traffic management system according to any one of claims 1 to 12, characterized in that the vehicle has a built-in storage battery, and the charger charges the storage battery built into the vehicle.

14. A traffic management system as described in any one of claims 1 to 13, characterized in that the renewable energy supply electricity includes electricity generated by a renewable energy power generation facility that generates electricity using renewable energy.

15. The traffic management system described in claim 14, characterized in that the electricity generated by the renewable energy power generation equipment is stored in a power storage equipment, and the renewable energy supply electricity includes electricity discharged from the power storage equipment.

16. The traffic management system according to claim 15, further comprising a renewable energy supply prediction unit that creates a power supply and demand plan for the charging spot, including a charge and discharge plan for the power storage facility, based on a predicted value of the power generation amount of the renewable energy power generation facility, and generates the supply amount prediction information based on the power supply and demand plan.

17. A vehicle operation system comprising: a vehicle that is an electric vehicle for business use; and an operation management system that creates an operation plan for the vehicle, wherein the operation management system comprises: an information acquisition unit that acquires operation request information indicating the departure point and destination of the vehicle; and an operation plan determination unit that selects the charge spot to charge the vehicle based on the locations of charge spots where chargers that can charge the vehicle are installed, the operation request information, and supply amount prediction information that indicates the predicted value of the supply of renewable energy supply power, which is electricity derived from renewable energy that can charge the vehicle at the managed spot, for each managed charge spot that is a managed charge spot among the charge spots, and determines the operation plan for the vehicle using the selection result of the charge spot.

18. The vehicle operation system according to claim 17, further comprising a vehicle management system that manages the vehicles and transmits the operation request information to the operation management system.

19. A vehicle that is an electric vehicle for business use, comprising: a transceiver that receives an operation plan from an operation management system that determines an operation plan for the vehicle; and a display device that displays the operation plan, wherein the operation management system selects the charge spot at which to charge the vehicle based on operation request information that indicates the departure and destination of the vehicle, the locations of charge spots where chargers that can charge the vehicle are installed, and supply amount prediction information that indicates, for each managed charge spot that is a managed charge spot among the charge spots, a predicted value of the supply of renewable energy supply power, which is electricity derived from renewable energy that can charge the vehicle at the managed charge spot, and determines the operation plan for the vehicle using the result of the selection of the charge spot.

20. An operation management method in an operation management system that determines an operation plan for a vehicle that is an electric vehicle for business use, comprising the steps of: acquiring operation request information indicating the departure point and destination of the vehicle; selecting the charge spot to charge the vehicle based on the locations of charge spots where chargers capable of charging the vehicle are installed, the operation request information, and supply amount prediction information that indicates the predicted value of the supply of renewable energy supply power, which is electricity derived from renewable energy that can charge the vehicle at the managed spot, for each managed charge spot that is a charge spot under management, and determining the operation plan for the vehicle using the result of the selection of the charge spot.

21. A program that causes a computer system to execute the following steps: acquiring operation request information indicating the departure point and destination of a vehicle that is an electric vehicle for business use; selecting a charging spot to charge the vehicle based on the locations of charging spots where chargers capable of charging the vehicle are installed, the operation request information, and supply forecast information that indicates the predicted value of the supply of renewable energy supply power, which is electricity derived from renewable energy that can charge the vehicle at the managed spot, for each managed charging spot that is a charging spot under management; and determining an operation plan for the vehicle using the result of the selection of the charging spot.

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