Japanese investment conglomerate SoftBank has launched its own standalone battery storage business in response to surging demand from the data center market.
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SoftBank's telco arm, SoftBank Corp, said that it would build large-scale battery cells and storage systems for the Japanese market, in partnership with South Korea-based battery company Cosmos Lab and AI firm DeltaX Co.
The company will produce the batteries at its factory in Sakai City, Osaka. According to the company, the site will also house a large-scale AI data center and an AI hardware plant.
Production at the plant is slated to commence in March 2028, with mass production targeted for 2029. The company said that it intends to use the batteries to power AI data centers and support grid and industrial applications across Japan, with potential expansion overseas in the medium term.
The new business will offer zinc-halogen battery cells produced in collaboration with Cosmos Lab.
Zinc-halogen batteries are a form of rechargeable energy storage device that uses zinc as the anode and a halogen as the cathode. Proponents of the technology contend that the batteries offer a safer option to standard lithium-ion batteries, as they use water as an electrolyte rather than flammable solvents. SoftBank will partner with DeltaX on the battery designs.
SoftBank said it aims to generate more than 100 billion yen ($638m) in annual revenue from its battery business by 2030.
This is the second major new business venture announced by SoftBank in a matter of months. Late last month, reports surfaced that the Masayoshi Son-headed firm was looking to form a new robotics unit focused on data center construction.
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