"Grid-scale battery storage" is being promoted as a national policy by the Japanese government. By utilizing battery storage, it becomes possible to compensate for the instability of renewable energy and manage electricity more efficiently. A grid-scale battery is a large-scale battery system that temporarily stores surplus electricity generated at power plants and supplies it when needed. This is a new business that will be key to future energy infrastructure.
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Japan's Energy Challenges and
the Importance of Grid-Scale Battery Systems
Since the Great East Japan Earthquake, Japan has been actively promoting the introduction of renewable energy. Clean energy sources such as solar and wind power have become indispensable for achieving a sustainable society.
Furthermore, recent technological innovations have led to the rapid development of next-generation technologies such as generative AI and quantum computers. As a result, demand for data centers is expanding globally, ushering in an era of enormous electricity consumption, and domestic electricity demand in Japan is projected to increase further going forward.
Because renewable energy fluctuates with
weather conditions and time of day,
stable electricity supply is difficult to achieve.
A major challenge in the widespread adoption of renewable energy is the instability of power generation. Since solar and wind power generation fluctuates with weather conditions and time of day, providing a stable supply of electricity is difficult.
Against this backdrop, the Japanese government is promoting the introduction of "grid-scale batteries" as a national policy. As a result, the construction of grid-scale battery facilities is gaining momentum and is expected to become a vital component of future energy infrastructure.
What is Grid-Scale Battery Storage?
A grid-scale battery system is a large-scale battery system that temporarily stores surplus electricity generated at power plants and supplies it when needed.
Its primary purpose is to regulate the unstable power output from renewable energy sources (such as solar and wind), balancing the electricity supply. It stores excess electricity when generation is high, and releases it when demand rises or generation decreases,
thereby achieving a stable electricity supply.
Accelerating Corporate Participation and Installation Cases
In recent years, energy companies and many other domestic corporations have been
announcing one after another their entry into the "grid-scale battery" business, which
connects to the power grid.
Projects are currently underway across Japan, from Hokkaido to Kyushu, and the
construction of large-scale battery facilities capable of supplying power to thousands
to over 20,000 households per site is also in progress.
The "3 Markets" That Generate Revenue
Market
01
01
Wholesale Electricity MarketEnergy Volume: Trading kWh Value
The wholesale electricity market is a market where power generators, large consumers, electricity retailers, and more recently new energy operators participate to trade electricity in bulk. Prices fluctuate here based on the timing of generation and consumption, as well as the supply-demand balance of electricity.
Market
02
02
Capacity MarketSupply Capacity: Trading kW Value
The capacity market is a mechanism for securing the power supply capacity (capacity) that will be needed in the future for stable grid operations. Rather than buying and selling electricity itself, it involves contracting "reserve power" available over a certain period. The Organization for Cross-regional Coordination of Transmission Operators forecasts the nationwide required supply four years ahead and conducts bidding.
Market
03
03
Balancing MarketFlexibility: Trading ΔkW Value
The balancing market is a market that provides grid services such as maintaining instantaneous supply-demand balance and adjusting frequency and voltage in grid operations. Since rapid response is required, swift system reactions are essential.
The Role of Aggregators
An aggregator is a business operator that centrally consolidates, manages, and operates multiple distributed energy resources (such as batteries and renewable energy power plants).
While individual small-scale facilities have limited market influence on their own, aggregators integrate them to leverage them as a larger collective energy resource. This enables optimal supply-demand balancing and collective participation in the electricity market, allowing facility owners to enjoy economic benefits while creating new business models.
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Integration of Distributed Resources
Individual small-scale generation and storage devices have limited impact on their own, but by aggregating them, aggregators can leverage them as a large overall energy resource.
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Optimization of Supply-Demand Balance
By integrating dispersed resources, aggregators can balance electricity supply and demand, contributing to stable grid operations. This enables flexible operation, such as supplying electricity from batteries during peak demand or making effective use of surplus power.
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Facilitating Market Participation
Aggregators can collectively offer these integrated energy resources to the electricity market, playing a key role in promoting renewable energy adoption and the development of distributed energy systems.
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Creating New Business Models
By partnering with individual facility owners to provide energy trading and demand adjustment services, aggregators help create new business models that generate economic benefits.
Selecting the Right Partner for Maximum Revenue
Toshiba's
Next-Generation Aggregation Model
Selecting an aggregator with advanced operational expertise is essential for success in the grid-scale battery business.
By choosing Toshiba as a business partner, it becomes possible to build a next-generation aggregation model that achieves all three pillars: "minimized costs × reduced risk × maximized revenue."
As a partner, Toshiba offers three key advantages, as outlined to the right.
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Highly Profitable Fee Structure
Toshiba's aggregation model uses a revenue-share fee structure with no fixed basic fees. This keeps initial and fixed costs low while enabling a flexible revenue structure based on trading volume and profits.
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Stability Through Power
PortfolioToshiba holds numerous generation and storage resources nationwide, making imbalance risks during supply-demand fluctuations extremely low. The ability to provide stable power adjustments enhances credibility and performance in the balancing market and capacity market.
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Facilitating Market Participation
Toshiba has already introduced a high-precision forecasting system made in Germany, capable of real-time, highly accurate analysis and prediction of solar power output. This supports optimal operations including securing adjustment capacity, battery control, and DR participation.
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