Energy Vault enters Japanese market with 850 MW storage portfolio acquisition

The move positions Energy Vault as a major player in Japan’s rapidly evolving storage sector, which is currently undergoing a structural shift toward revenue stacking.

Similar to the grid congestion issues plaguing the Dutch high-voltage network, Japan’s grid is struggling to integrate high levels of renewable energy due to limited regional interconnections and a fragmented frequency system (50Hz/60Hz).

Solar curtailment (locally known as shutsuryoku yokusei), particularly in regions like Kyushu, has become routine, creating a need and an opportunity for the flexibility that batteries can provide.

The acquired portfolio includes 350 MW of advanced-stage projects slated for construction in late 2027, and an additional 500 MW of early-stage projects. By onboarding a local development team, Energy Vault aims to navigate Japan’s permitting and utility interconnection processes, which can bottleneck the addition of new capacity.

Energy Vault’s statement said, “These assets announced to date are expected to yield over 180 million+ in annual, recurring EBITDA streams once fully constructed and operational in the next 12-36 months, well ahead of our previously stated guidance.”

Robert Piconi, Chairman and CEO of Energy Vault, stated:

“Entering the Japanese market is a key component of our high-growth markets expansion strategy and represents one of the most compelling energy storage growth opportunities globally. This acquisition provides us with a foundational leadership position in Japan with advanced stage, attractive storage IPP projects coupled with critical local execution capabilities necessary to deliver at the highest performance levels within the Japanese BESS market … [f]urthermore, we expect to leverage our new solutions in the high-growth AI Compute segments to further compound growth opportunities within the market to enhance delivery of predictable, high-margin, long-term revenue streams ahead of our previously stated growth targets.”

“Despite being a highly developed economy, Japan’s energy storage market remains significantly underpenetrated and is now entering a period of accelerated growth driven by renewable expansion and structural grid constraints. Importantly, storage demand in Japan is not tied to load growth, but to the increasing need for flexibility, resilience, and system stability—creating a powerful, long-duration growth tailwind for our broad portfolio of solutions.”