We sell the Smart Star series of next-generation energy storage systems for home use in Japan. The series comes equipped with the AI software GridShare that optimizes storage battery operation for home use.
GridShare predicts the amount of power generated by solar power generation facilities based on weather forecasts and other data and analyzes and learns the power consumption patterns of households. It controls the optimal charging and discharging of each energy storage device through an IoT remote control system from NF Blossom Technologies, thereby enabling the efficient use of photovoltaic power generation systems and energy storage devices. Using GridShare’s function of remotely controlling the charging and discharging energy storage devices, we seek to commercialize GridShare by working with electricity companies and others to verify demand responses using household energy storage devices, which is drawing attention as a solution to today’s electricity shortages.
The Smart Star series has a sales record of about 60,000 sets (corresponding to 600 MWh/180 MW) as of end of January 2024, with NF Blossom Technologies as the manufacturer　and ITOCHU as the exclusive seller.

We have also established the joint venture IBeeT Corporation together with the Tokyo Century Corporation to offer the Smart Star series and other distributed power sources as well as relevant equipment in the form of a subscription service without initial costs, and are working to further promote peer-to-peer (P2P) electricity trading*1 by making TRENDE Inc. a consolidated subsidiary of ITOCHU, through the acquisition of shares from TEPCO Ventures, Inc.

As a new initiative, we are working on the energy storage plant business—which is gaining increasing popularity in Japan—and are advancing the construction of specific energy storage plants, including a project in Toyooka, Hyogo Prefecture, with the Kaneka Group; a project in Suita, Osaka Prefecture, with Osaka Gas and Tokyo Century Corporation; and a project in Fukuoka Prefecture, with the Tokyu Land Corporation Group. ITOCHU has also been selected as a joint operator—together with Gore Street Capital Limited—of a fund being created by the Tokyo Metropolitan Government for promoting energy creation and storage. The creation of a fund of around 10 billion yen to invest in grid storage facilities is also underway. In addition to the accumulation of these kinds of energy storage assets, we have also concluded a strategic capital and business alliance with UON Pty Ltd., an Australian off-grid decarbonized energy solutions provider, and are expanding our distributed power supply business operations in Japan to overseas markets. Going forward, we will continue working to create further synergies within the existing investment value chain, through a wide range of initiatives ranging from residential storage batteries to large-scale power plants, and both on-grid and off-grid solutions.
ITOCHU will continue to work with excellent partners in the evolution of its energy storage device business as we contribute to the realization of the efficient use of renewable energy, the stabilization of the power supply and the creation of a decarbonized society utilizing distributed energy.