SoftBank Launches Massive Battery Push for AI Data Centers.
SoftBank Corp. is diving into large-scale battery production to tackle the skyrocketing energy needs of AI infrastructure. The Japanese telecom giant announced plans to manufacture gigawatt-hour-scale energy storage at its Osaka facility, marking a bold step into hardware for the AI boom.
Production Ramp-Up in Sakai Plant
SoftBank will kick off mass production of battery cells and energy storage systems at its Sakai, Osaka plant starting in the fiscal year from April 2027.
Partnering with South Korea’s Cosmos Lab for safer zinc-halogen cells and DeltaX for high-density systems, the site aims for 1 GWh annual output initially one of Japan’s largest, per BloombergNEF data.
This former Sharp LCD factory now anchors SoftBank’s GX Factory for batteries and solar tech, alongside the AX Factory for AI data centers. Expansion to several GWh is on the horizon, fueling not just internal AI ops but grid, factories, and homes.
The zinc-halogen batteries developed by COSMOS LAB use pure water as its electrolyte, and its key feature is its ability to eliminate fire risks associated with the currently dominant lithium-ion batteries.
SoftBank and COSMOS LAB aim to establish technology for mass production at an early stage, and commence mass production around FY2027.
Powering AI’s Energy Hunger
AI data centers guzzle power like never before, and SoftBank’s batteries target this bottleneck head-on.
The systems will first support the company’s own Sakai AI hub, using advanced chemistries like non-flammable zinc-halogen with water electrolytes to cut fire risks.
Beyond data centers, applications span industrial sites, residential setups, and power grids. SoftBank eyes global sales mid-term, blending AI demand forecasting with DeltaX’s cell-to-pack tech for top-tier density.
Revenue Goals and Broader Strategy
The battery venture chases over 100 billion yen ($650 million) in yearly domestic revenue by fiscal 2030.
CEO Junichi Miyakawa frames it as transforming SoftBank into an AI infrastructure powerhouse, including neocloud services and upgraded networks for AI devices.
This aligns with founder Masayoshi Son’s AI ambitions, shifting from pure telecom to energy solutions amid global data center growth.
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