SoftBank Preparing to Create Battery Business

SoftBank is getting ready to create a battery business to offer redundancy for data centres and other industrial sites. Japanese operator plans to use an AI facility under development in the Osaka Prefecture as the hub.

The company plans to design and produce battery cells and storage systems in collaboration with several domestic companies. SoftBank stated it would establish its battery operations at the Osaka Sakai AI Data Center, a facility it is building on the site of a former Sharp operation. The goal is to commence production of each element in its fiscal 2027, which begins on 1 April 2027, and hit mass production on a GWh-per-year scale by around fiscal 2028.

It is working with Cosmos Lab to develop battery cells. SoftBank explained the focus is on producing non-flammable items using its partner’s zinc-halogen designs, which employ pure water as the electrolyte, and are pitched as less of a fire risk than lithium-ion (Li-ion). SoftBank highlighted zinc-halogen as an unusual yet promising development for battery cell technology, minimising energy loss when discharging while matching or bettering the efficiency of Li-ion.

The storage side involves DeltaX, a company SoftBank stated brings battery cell connection designs and packaging technologies, which set the stage for further improvements in energy storage performance. SoftBank described battery energy storage systems as becoming vital in providing stable electricity supplies.