Huawei to sell large capacity battery for renewable energy in Japan

With the growing demand for renewable energy, large-scale battery storage will be needed to conserve the power for a stable supply. According to NikkeiAsia, Huawei will start selling the large-scale battery system for renewable energy storage in Japan in March 2022.

As per the information, Japan is moving away from fossil fuels and shifting to renewable energy. The nation aims to have renewables account for 36% to 38% of energy generation by 2030. The lack of additional capacity in its power grid makes facilities for temporary storage that much more important.

However, Huawei is already a supplier of the small household battery system in Japan. Now, the Chinese tech maker will purchase small battery packs from CATL and bundle them into shipping container-sized units that can each store 2,000 kilowatt-hours of energy — roughly 200 times as much as a standard home battery.

Also, the container capacity can be adjusted based on the buyer’s needs. To be mentioned, Huawei is stepping its feet in the renewable power storage system sector, which is also already occupied by Tesla. Since last year, Tesla has been selling its own large battery system in Japan.

According to the research firm Fuji Keizai, the Japanese market for battery storage for solar and wind power to grow from an estimated 16.7 billion yen ($146 million) in 2020 to 45.8 billion yen in 2030.

Moreover, Huawei’s Japanese arm is eyeing the Hokkaido market, where there is much potential for renewable energy generation but a lack of spare grid capacity. Also, Huawei Japan President James Chen said that “rapid development in solar power technology and cost reduction” in Japan.

On the other hand, Tesla has already installed its first Megapack in Japan last April at a research facility in Ibaraki Prefecture run by Takasago Thermal Engineering. The system controls power flows from solar and biomass gasification facilities there.

This summer season, it is ready to start up a Megapack in Hokkaido connected directly to the transmission grid, to be operated by emerging power provider Global Engineering. However, Japan Renewable Energy, a power company recently acquired by oil wholesaler Eneos Holdings, has said it is using a Tesla battery system in a demonstration project.

About Japan:

Japan has its own producers of large battery systems, such as NGK Insulators and Sumitomo Electric Industries that deliver dozens per year to customers inside and outside Japan.

But the Power companies including Tokyo Electric Power Co. Holdings, and trading houses such as Sumitomo Corp. and Marubeni are looking forward for commercialize large storage systems made up of linked auto batteries.

Cost Advantage:

Tesla Japan is expected to sell its systems for $440 per kWh or less, and Huawei aims to be competitive with that price. Meanwhile, an executive at an emerging power company Japan said “When we get batteries, we pick the company with the lowest cost,” that is involved in renewable energy.