Shizen Energy, Itochu to Form Grid-scale Battery Storage Team

Shizen Energy Inc. (Shizen Energy) and ITOCHU Corporation (ITOCHU) signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) regarding collaboration in the grid-scale storage battery business and have agreed to commence discussions on a joint project. Through this collaboration, Shizen Energy aims to make a full-scale entry into the grid-scale storage battery business.

In light of the Japanese government’s declaration to become carbon neutral by 2050, communities and businesses are facing the challenges of incorporating renewable energy, shifting to EVs, and strengthening their energy resilience to cope with the severity of recent natural disasters. Meanwhile, as we expect renewable energy sources to increase, and taking into consideration its characteristics of being variable to natural conditions, Shizen Energy believes that it is important to make effective use of surplus power and to secure flexibility that contributes to stable power supply during power shortages.

The following three points are planned for consideration for this joint project.

(1) Collaboration with IBeeT Corporation (a joint venture between ITOCHU Corporation and Tokyo Century Corporation, which offers a subscription service for distributed power sources) in which IBeeT will procure and operate the equipment from its extensive lineup of grid-scale storage batteries, which is one of ITOCHU’s strengths.

(2) Shizen Energy and ITOCHU will optimize the operation of grid-scale storage batteries by utilizing Shizen Connect, an aggregate energy management system developed and operated by Shizen Energy.

(3) Shizen Energy will provide flexibility from the grid-scale storage batteries for power markets, such as the wholesale power market and supply and demand adjustment market.

As the first phase of this joint project, a demonstration project involving the installation of grid-scale storage batteries with a rated capacity of 2MW/4.8MWh will be conducted. In this demonstration project, BlueStorage, an energy storage system utilizing reused EV batteries from IBeeT, and Shizen Connect from Shizen Energy will be installed in Fukuoka Prefecture to improve the accuracy of market price forecasts, accumulate know-how on market trends, and verify the feasibility of future multi-site, large-scale deployment.

Shizen Energy will promote the introduction of grid-scale storage batteries and energy management systems throughout Japan to contribute to the realization of a sustainable decarbonized society through the efficient use and stable supply of electricity derived from renewable energy sources.