Japanese telecoms tech company Softbank Corporation has launched a battery cell and battery energy storage system (BESS) manufacturing arm in its home country.
The company, part of investment firm Softbank Group’s portfolio, said this week (11 May) that its new Japan-based business will manufacture non-lithium battery cells based on a zinc-bromine chemistry, aiming to achieve GWh-scale mass production “by around FY2028.”
It will also integrate the cells into containerised battery energy storage system (BESS) enclosures, in an “end-to-end” vertically integrated manufacturing approach.
The move is part of a play to capitalise on growing demand for both AI data centres and new energy infrastructure.
Parent company Softbank Group, which reported JPY7.8 trillion (US$49.4 billion) in income for its 2025 financial year ending 31 March 2026, is perhaps best known in the global renewable energy industry as the original majority owner of developer SB Energy, now 85% owned by Toyota Tsusho Corporation with Softbank Group holding 15%.
