Tesla & Local Partners to Build Storage Facility in Japan

US auto major Tesla is partnering with Japanese companies to build an energy storage facility using its rechargeable battery in Hokkaido in northern Japan to help stabilise the power system.

Tesla will collaborate with Japanese power retailer and aggregator Global Engineering and engineering firm Ene-Vision to build the energy storage facility connected to the grid with 6,095 kWh capacity that could power about 500 homes.

Tesla will supply its Megapack battery technology for the project, which is due to start operating in summer 2022.

Global Engineering will be the operator, selling power to the wholesale electricity market, balancing market and capacity market, while Ene-Vision will handle engineering, procurement and construction.

The project’s estimated cost is said to be around 300 million yen ($2.7 million).

Global Engineering said that the project aims to help further expansion of renewable energy and to reduce costs by absorbing fluctuations and stabilising output through the use of generators and storage batteries.

Tesla announced its second quarter (Q2) quarterly results last month. The firm, with an oversized presence and impact in the EV segment, has shared some key metrics for its solar and energy storage business this time. In fact, even as it has postponed the launch of its electric trucks, the Semi Truck to 2022, the firm claims that but for shortage of chips, its storage business would have been even stronger this past quarter.

The company declared $12 billion in revenues, with a net income of $1.14 billion. The solar and storage business accounted for $801 million topline. This includes its three main offerings here: solar, its Powerwall storage device for homes and businesses, and its year old utility storage unit Megapack. Not only has this group grown 62% in revenues over the previous quarter, it has also turned profitable. Total cost of of the business, according to Tesla, was $781 million.

Tesla founder Elon Musk has indicated the firm will look at powering some of its products with batteries using lithium-iron-phosphate (LFP) chemistry in the future.