ITOCHU Announces Start of Commercial Operation of Senri Chikudensho
August 20, 2025
ITOCHU Corporation (Keita Ishii, President and COO; hereinafter "ITOCHU") announced that Senri Chikudensho Co., Ltd., a joint venture set up by ITOCHU, Osaka Gas Co., Ltd. (Masataka Fujiwara, Representative Director and President; hereinafter "Osaka Gas") and Tokyo Century Corporation (Koji Fujiwara, President & CEO, Representative Director; hereinafter "Tokyo Century") has started the commercial operation of utility scale energy storage facility (hereinafter "Senri Chikudensho") today.
The demand for energy storage devices which compensate for fluctuations in the generation of electricity from renewable sources of energy has increased in recent years due to the increasing adoption of renewable energy. Utility scale energy storage devices connected directly to the power grid help stabilize energy supply and demand by storing surplus energy for later use.
Senri Chikudensho, located on the premises of Senri Supply Center (Suita-shi, Osaka) owned by OSAKA GAS NETWORK CO., LTD. is an energy storage facility with a rated output of 11 MW and a rated capacity of 23 MWh. In April 2023, Senri Chikudensho was selected to receive a FY2022 supplementary subsidy to promote use of distributed energy resources and expand renewable energy power (grid storage battery systems and water electrolysis equipment) publicly offered by general incorporated association Sustainable Open Innovation Initiative. All construction and administrative procedures have been completed, and commercial operation started today.
ITOCHU, Osaka Gas and Tokyo Century will help accelerate the adoption of renewable energy, support the stability of the power grid, and work to realize a decarbonized society, which is a social issue, through the expansion of their utility scale energy storage business.
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Business Overview
| Business operator | Senri Chikudensho Co., Ltd. |
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| Location | 3-5-11 Dosho-machi, Chuo-ku, Osaka |
| Representative | Hiroki Matsui, President & Chief Executive Officer |
| Date of incorporation | May 29, 2023 |
| Location of the energy storage facility | 18-1 Yamadakita, Suita-shi, Osaka On the grounds of the OSAKA GAS NETWORK CO., LTD. Senri Supply Center |
| Rated output | 11MW |
| Rated capacity | 23MWh |
| Battery type | Lithium ion batteries |
| Site area | Approx. 2,200m2 |
| Investors Main roles |
ITOCHU : Energy storage device and PCS procurement, maintenance Osaka Gas : Energy storage device operation, power trading Tokyo Century: Business potential assessment, support of the operations of the operating company |
Actions for the energy storage business taken by the individual companies
| ITOCHU | ITOCHU is developing the ability to achieve an energy balance and helping to accelerate the adoption of renewable energy by expanding the demand response business with household energy storage devices equipped with remote-controlled software, participating in utility scale energy storage projects leveraging its own large-scale energy storage system and AI-based power supply and demand forecasting system. ITOCHU is also supporting the popularization of energy storage facilities financed by public-private investment funds. |
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| Osaka Gas | Daigas Group is implementing measures to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050. Through this Business, the Daigas Group aims to increase its energy storage capacity to 1,000MW by FY2030(including projects for which decisions have already been made.) using utility scale energy storage and integrated renewable energy solutions. Senri Chikudensho is the first utility scale energy storage facility in Japan operated commercially by Osaka Gas, which intends to support the stability of the power grid using its knowledge of the energy trade. |
| Tokyo Century | As one of its growth strategies, Tokyo Century has stated its intention to set up and operate energy storage plants in its 2027 medium-term management plan, and it has rapidly introduced utility scale energy storage and integrated renewable energy solutions. It aims to support the stability of the power grid by continuing to expand its energy storage business. It will continue to take measures to facilitate the use of renewable energy and distributed electricity generation systems to help realize an environmentally friendly recycling-oriented society. |
Corporate data
<ITOCHU>
| Company name | ITOCHU Corporation |
|---|---|
| Headquarters | 2-5-1 Kita-Aoyama, Minato-ku, Tokyo |
| Representative | Keita Ishii, President and COO |
| Capital | 253,448 million yen |
| Date of incorporation | December 1, 1949 |
| Business outline | Domestic trading, import, export and tripartite transactions of products in the fields of textiles, machinery, metals, energy, chemicals, foods, housing life, information, finance and other fields. |
<Osaka Gas>
| Company name | Osaka Gas Co., Ltd. |
|---|---|
| Headquarters | 1-2, Hirano-machi 4-chome, Chuo-ku, Osaka, Japan |
| Representative | Masataka Fujiwara, Representative Director and President |
| Capital | 132,167 million yen |
| Date of incorporation | April 10, 1897 |
| Business outline | Production and sale of gas, generation and sale of electricity and other business |
<Tokyo Century>
| Company name | Tokyo Century Corporation |
|---|---|
| Headquarters | 3 Kandaneribeicho, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo, Japan |
| Representative | Koji Fujiwara, President & CEO, Representative Director |
| Capital | 81,129 million yen |
| Date of incorporation | July 1, 1969 |
| Business outline | Finance leasing in Japan, automotive business, specialty and international businesses and environmental infrastructure business |