Sumitomo Electric is one of the oldest and largest global suppliers of all vanadium flow batteries (VRFB) technology, with approximately 47MW/162MWh delivered globally so far. In 2015, the company built the world's largest flow battery (at that time) in northern Japan, with a capacity of 60MWh. It is currently developing another flow battery with a capacity of 51MWh and providing services for the largest flow battery system in the United States (2MW/8MWh system located in California).

Sumitomo Electric will provide an all vanadium flow battery with a discharge time of 8 hours to a recently established municipal power company in Niigata, Japan - Kashizaki Ideal and Realistic Energy Company (Kashizaki IR). The project is a 1MW/8MWh energy storage system. The Long Term Energy Storage (LDES) system will be installed at the site of a public sewage treatment plant in Kashizaki City, Niigata Prefecture, located on the northern coast of the Sea of Japan on Honshu Island, about a four hour drive from Tokyo.

Kashizaki City is a traditional birthplace of petroleum refining and nuclear power industries, and is promoting a decarbonization agenda with a focus on renewable energy and nuclear energy, while seeking to increase energy storage capacity. The installation of liquid flow batteries will help integrate renewable energy (VRE) generation into the grid, while also helping to stabilize the operation of the grid. At the same time, it will promote the municipal goals of improving local energy self-sufficiency and supporting industrial growth in Kashizaki.

The project is scheduled to enter commercial operation in March 2024 and will fulfill these responsibilities by participating in the Japanese energy wholesale trading market. With changes in Japanese regulations to meet the market trading mechanisms for energy storage, this has brought new opportunities for energy storage systems. For example, a few months ago, solar developer Pacifico Energy became the first company to invest battery energy storage system (BESS) assets in the JPEX spot market. Pacifico Energy's two lithium-ion BESS units entered the trading space in June, each with a capacity of 2MW/8MWh, located at both ends of the country's geographical location.

Pacifico Energy is a pioneer, but not the only developer to discover future opportunities. A few weeks ago, Japan's largest oil producer, Tetsu Mitsubishi, announced its first grid scale BESS project, while a joint venture formed by Chinese battery manufacturer CATL announced this month that construction work on the BESS project has begun.

This may be a driving factor for Kashizaki IR's decision to place an order for flow batteries with Sumitomo Electric. In July, utility company Sala Energy ordered a 6-hour 69.6MWh sodium sulfur (NAS) high-temperature battery storage system from manufacturer NGK Insulators, which may have set some market precedent.

Kashizaki IR was established last year and began selling electricity in September 2022. It was jointly established by Kashizaki City and eight private companies, including INPEX, an energy company focused on oil, Pacific Power Company, Nippon Oil Exploration Company, and banks, among others.

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