As renewable energy grows, Japan’s Itochu Corp (8001.T) announced Wednesday that it had formed a power storage company alongside Osaka Gas Co (9532.T) and Tokyo Century Corp (8439.T).
Itochu stated that the joint venture would begin building large-scale lithium-ion storage batteries in Osaka prefecture in the first part of the current fiscal year for a debut in 2025.
Batteries store renewable energy to stabilize production swings, helping Japan become carbon neutral by 2050.
Itochu will supply storage batteries and construction, Osaka Gas will exchange power, and Tokyo Century will supervise the project.
Japan is seeking $24 billion in public and private investments to generate 150-gigawatt hours (GWh) of local battery production capacity by 2030, including for electric vehicles, and 600 GWh by Japanese firms worldwide.
