en.Wedoany.com Reported - On July 6, Japan's Toho Lamac plans to enter the grid-scale battery energy storage market and will acquire a 1.99MW/8.22MWh energy storage project located in Makubetsu Town, Hokkaido. The Hokkaido energy storage project is being transferred by an undisclosed seller. Toho Lamac's board approved the acquisition arrangement on June 30, 2026, with the target commercial operation date set for January 2027.

Toho Lamac, originally primarily engaged in footwear wholesale, decided to enter the energy sector in March 2024 and acquired a 421.6kW solar power plant in Kagawa Prefecture in December 2024. This Hokkaido energy storage project will become a key asset for its entry into the grid-scale energy storage market. Although the project scale is not considered large-scale storage, it has a clear commercial operation timeline and regional grid application scenarios, serving as an entry point for the company to expand from small-scale solar assets to battery storage assets.

In recent years, grid-scale battery energy storage projects in Japan have been increasing, with some companies listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange's Standard and Growth markets also entering the energy storage market. The acquisition of the Hokkaido energy storage project demonstrates that non-traditional energy companies are participating in energy storage asset allocation through mergers and acquisitions. The project still requires the signing of acquisition agreements, completion procedures, grid connection preparations, and operational commissioning. Actual operational performance will depend on the electricity market trading mechanism and energy storage dispatch capabilities.