Start of Full Operation of Japan's First Fund Exclusively for Utility Scale Energy Storage in Collaboration with Tokyo Metropolitan Government

Procuring over 8 billion yen from a total of 11 governmental and industrial investors

September 30, 2024

ITOCHU Corporation (headquartered in Minato-ku, Tokyo; Keita Ishii, President and COO; hereinafter "ITOCHU") announced today that the Tokyo Metropolitan Energy Storage Plant Investment Limited Partnership (hereinafter "the Fund") came into full operation after investment of more than 8 billion yen from private institutional investors under the Limited Partnership (LP) in association with the release entitled Establishment of a Fund Exclusively for Utility Scale Energy Storage for the First Time in Japan*1 in December 2023.

The Fund is operated by GI Energy Storage Management Inc. as General Partner (GP). This company has jointly been established with Gore Street Capital Limited (headquartered in London; Alex O’Cinneide, CEO; hereinafter "GSC"). It is Japan's first fund exclusively for energy storage that invests in, develop and operate new energy storage plants, including those equipped with renewable energy facilities, in the Kanto region and elsewhere in a one-stop manner. The GP will make the most of ITOCHU's numerous projects as possible investment destinations and GSC's experience and expertise in fund management to build energy storage plant systems best suited for individual projects and return the know-how up to operation to LP as a way to accelerate the spread of energy storage plants.

Energy storage plants are expected to play a function of coordinating energy demand and supply, which is indispensable to expanding the introduction of renewable energy. However, they require a huge amount of money and advanced know-how in operation for the purpose of maintaining coordination capacity that is needed in the future. The Fund has goals of making maximum use of renewable energy power sources, stabilizing power demand and supply, enlarging the energy storage plant market and establishing a finance model. With capital participation from many different business sectors including real estate, services, automobiles and finance, the Fund will work with these partners to achieve these goals. In addition, it will serve to speed up the progress towards the Tokyo Metropolitan Government's HTT initiative for Herasu (saving), Tsukuru (generation) and Tameru (storage) of electric power and to realize a Zero Emission Tokyo*2. The Fund is planning to launch an energy storage plant in its first project in FY2025 and to successively develop and operate energy storage plants.

To meet the needs of the market, ITOCHU has expanded its product lineup, which ranges from household energy storage devices to large energy storage systems for industrial use and for utility grids. It will speed up its efforts to make sure that the coordination capacity created from the demand response with the use of remote control software embedded into household energy storage devices and from participation in projects for utility scale energy storage with the use of its large energy storage systems will help stably expand the introduction of renewable energy.

Outline of the Fund

Name of fund Tokyo Metropolitan Energy Storage Plant Investment Limited Partnership
Operator GI Energy Storage Management Inc. (Note)
Date of establishment February 29, 2024
Investment target Utility scale energy storage projects or projects involving energy storage with renewable energy facilities that will newly come into operation mainly in the Kanto region
Fund size Over 8 billion yen

(Note) Jointly operated by ITOCHU Corporation and U.K.-based Gore Street Capital Limited