Skip to main content

Hexing's Journey to Optimal AMI Performance with Renesas' Expertise

Image
Hexing Electrical product

Hexing Electrical Co., Ltd, is a multinational company offering a variety of electrical equipment and solutions to global power utilities. With over two decades of industrial experience, Hexing is dedicated to developing customized sustainable ecosystems for energy distribution companies. Their solutions include micro-grids with renewable energy, distribution automation, and smart meters for effective revenue protection. Today, more than 90 countries across the world utilize Hexing products and solutions for a better tomorrow.

Hexing's Advanced Metering Infrastructure (AMI) system relies on PLC communication as a mutual and reliable communication method, complying with G3-PLC/G3 Hybrid communication standards. To achieve their AMI system, Hexing chose Renesas' CPX3 PLC solution.

Each smart meter is equipped with a PLC module based on the Renesas CPX3 device, allowing data to be sent to the data concentrator through PLC communication. This enables data collection and remote management of the smart meters.

Hexing and Renesas have jointly celebrated significant achievements in the realm of G3-PLC solutions, receiving prestigious recognition from the G3 Alliance during the recent Enlit Europe event in Milan. Renesas was honored for developing the first-ever certified G3 platform, while Hexing earned accolades for the inaugural product certification of a fully featured G3 Hybrid product.

Challenge

Throughout the design and development process, Hexing faced challenges in optimizing overall system performance.

Solution

To address this, the collaboration with Renesas proved invaluable. Leveraging its market-leading position in PLC solutions for smart metering applications, Renesas conducted extensive testing and analysis, identifying key performance issues. With the support of both local technical teams and overseas product line experts, Renesas proposed targeted hardware optimizations that significantly enhanced the system's efficiency.

Image
Evaluation board

Mr. Lin, Director of IoT Application Product Line at Hexing, emphasized the strength of their partnership with Renesas: "The mature solution proven by the market helps us to quickly and smoothly carry out product development. In addition, with the strong support from the teams at Renesas and our substantial investment in product development, our products can be swiftly deployed in the field, achieving excellent performance in our AMI offerings."

Impact

As a result of Renesas' mature G3 PLC solutions and years of accumulated experience, the functionality and performance index of Hexing’s products has been well achieved. This collaboration also enabled Hexing to achieve certification for the latest V7 version of its G3 Hybrid products, equipped with frequency hopping features, making it the first vendor to secure this certification.

Shinichi Kozu, Business Unit Director at Renesas, expressed his satisfaction with the outcomes of the partnership: "I am very happy to see that our team's efforts are paying off by bringing high-quality end products to the market. The recognition from the G3 alliance not only reflects our commitment to innovation but also highlights our collaboration with Hexing in advancing G3-PLC and Hybrid technology."

The recognition received at Enlit Europe serves as a testament to the successful partnership between Hexing and Renesas, paving the way for continued innovation in smart metering solutions.