LS Electric has officially begun construction of a grid-connected energy storage system (ESS) in Ichihara, Chiba Prefecture, Japan, marking a significant step in the company’s local market expansion. The project, announced on November 28, features a 2-megawatt (MW) power conversion system (PCS) paired with an 8-megawatt-hour (MWh) battery.
Grid-connected ESS stores electricity and supplies it on demand, enhancing power usage efficiency and stabilizing intermittent renewable energy sources such as solar and wind.
For this project, LS Electric is supplying core power equipment, including PCS units, and implementing an energy management system (EMS) to ensure reliable operation and efficient power utilization.
Significantly, this is LS Electric’s first project in Japan where the company is both investing directly and managing operations. Traditionally, global ESS projects in Japan have been financed by banks, investment funds, utilities, or consortia, with power equipment companies primarily responsible for engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC) and operations (O&M).
Earlier this year, in April, LS Electric secured a contract to build a 20 MW / 90 MWh grid-connected ESS plant in Watari, Miyagi Prefecture — the largest such project by a South Korean company in Japan. The company also deployed its first grid-connected ESS facilities in Hokkaido and Kyushu in 2022.
LS Electric plans to leverage its proven ESS construction capabilities and expand into direct investment to strengthen its local presence. Japan’s ESS market is growing rapidly, supported by subsidies for installation costs to encourage renewable energy integration. Japan aims to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050, increasing the share of renewables in power generation from 19.8% in 2020 to 36–38% by 2030.
“This project marks our first step as an active participant in Japan’s electricity market and energy transition,” said Cho Wook-dong, Executive Vice President of LS Electric. “Having demonstrated our capabilities through successful ESS projects in Japan, we plan to expand further through direct investment and power trading, seizing growth opportunities in Japan’s ESS market.”
