Japan’s first subsidized flow battery under construction

Japan’s Sumitomo Electric is building the first redox flow battery to be approved for government subsidy in the country.

The 2 MW/8 MWh facility, which is under construction on the island of Kyushu, will be subsidized under Japan’s FY2024 Renewable Energy Expansion and Grid-Scale Energy Storage System Support Program.

The subsidy regime, which backs utility-scale storage and water electrolysis, was introduced by Japan’s Ministry of Economy, Trade, and Industry and the Agency for Natural Resources and Energy.

The battery will be installed for oil distributor Shin-Idemitsu Co. Ltd. and is expected to be operational in October 2026.

The site will be the Nagasu Energy Storage Facility, in the Tamana district of Kumamoto prefecture.

Sumitomo’s website indicates the company has more than 30 years’ experience of developing vanadium redox flow batteries, with more than 180 MWh of systems deployed or contracted, including in the United States and Belgium.

The company installed a 30 MW/60 MWh site, which it describes as the world’s largest flow battery, for the Hokkaido Electric Power Company in Northern Japan and says that site has been operating since December 2015.

A 2 MW/8 MWh pilot project for San Diego Gas & Electric has been participating in the California Independent System Operator grid’s wholesale electricity market since December 2018, according to the Sumitomo site.

Earlier this year, Sumitomo released a new vanadium redox flow battery (VRFB) suitable for a variety of long-duration configurations. The system applies “newly developed long life materials” which allows for a 30-year operational lifespan.