HOBE ENERGY Commences Operation of 5MWh 'Shichinoki Energy Storage Plant' — Achieving Market Entry Just 2.5 Months After Energization, Simultaneously with Konara Plant

HOBE ENERGY Co., Ltd. (Headquarters: Minato-ku, Tokyo; President and CEO: Tsuyoshi Okino; hereinafter “HOBE ENERGY”), a provider of next-generation battery storage solutions, announces the commencement of operations today, June 16, 2026, at the 5MWh grid-scale battery storage project 'Shichinoki Energy Storage Plant', developed by Japan Energy Storage Development Institute Co., Ltd. (Headquarters: Tokyo; Representative Director: Akira Hoshino; hereinafter “JESDI”) in Kamikawa Town, Kodama District, Saitama Prefecture. The plant has now entered Japan’s balancing market.

This project was announced as having completed energization in a press release dated March 31, 2026. Following the simultaneous commissioning of the 'Konara Energy Storage Plant' (Kumagaya City, Saitama Prefecture) on the same day, this marks another consecutive achievement, fully demonstrating the high reproducibility of HOBE ENERGY’s 'fully integrated equipment design and turnkey supply model' and its proprietary 'in-house developed EMS (Energy Management System)'. The company has successfully brought a large-scale 5MWh energy storage facility to market entry within just 2.5 months of energization.

※ Press release on energization completed on March 31, 2026

■ Value Delivered by Proprietary EMS and One-Stop Solution

The Shichinoki Energy Storage Plant’s greatest strength lies in HOBE ENERGY’s proprietary, in-house developed advanced EMS.

Beyond basic charge/discharge control, the system implements real-time control technologies that instantly respond to strict grid balancing market requirements (primary frequency regulation) and real-time fluctuations in renewable energy output. By tightly integrating with RUTILEA Inc.’s power trading optimization AI from the design phase, connection adjustments and system integration tests after energization were compressed to the extreme.

This rapid commissioning was made possible not by simply delivering equipment, but through HOBE ENERGY’s expert engineers providing end-to-end support—from high-level technical discussions with the Organization for Cross-regional Coordination of Transmission Operators (OCCTO) and transmission/distribution operators (TSOs) to on-site fine-tuning—ensuring close collaboration and partnership with the customer.

■ Installation Overview

Item

Details

Plant Name

Shichinoki Energy Storage Plant

Location

Kamikawa Town, Kodama District, Saitama Prefecture

Capacity

5MWh (Output: approx. 2MW)

Energization Date

March 31, 2026

Operation Start Date

June 16, 2026 (approximately 2.5 months after energization)

Storage System

HOBE ENERGY 5ft Compact Integrated Battery System
(All-in-one design: LFP batteries, proprietary EMS, PCS, substation equipment)

Project Owner

Japan Energy Storage Development Institute Co., Ltd.

Construction Partner

E-Top Co., Ltd. (EPC)

Operations Support

RUTILEA Inc. (Aggregator)

Shichinoki Energy Storage Plant (Kamikawa Town, Kodama District, Saitama Prefecture)

■ Future Outlook: Toward Mass Deployment of Grid-Scale Battery Storage Through Proven Multi-Project Capability

The simultaneous commissioning of the Konara and Shichinoki plants signifies that HOBE ENERGY has established a 'mass deployment model for grid-scale energy storage projects'. This achievement goes beyond the success of a single pilot project (Konara), proving the company’s system supply capability to bring multiple projects—differing in schedule and site conditions—into the market simultaneously within '2.5 months after energization'.

With the Japanese government targeting 40–50% renewable energy by 2040 and the urgent need to strengthen national energy security, the rapid and large-scale deployment of grid-connected battery storage systems is a critical priority.

HOBE ENERGY will expand this robust four-party integrated framework to smoothly supply systems to JESDI’s upcoming projects (such as Hachibuse and Orikuchi Energy Storage Plants) and serve as a comprehensive partner meeting nationwide demands for multi-site, simultaneous deployment by energy developers, thereby driving the advancement of Japan’s power infrastructure.

■ Message from Tsuyoshi Okino, President and CEO of HOBE ENERGY Co., Ltd.

“We are deeply proud that both the Konara and Shichinoki energy storage plants, which completed energization in March this year, have achieved simultaneous operation just two and a half months later. We sincerely thank Mr. Hoshino of JESDI, E-Top Co., Ltd. for construction, and RUTILEA Inc. for market operation support.

Our strength lies not just in supplying equipment, but in comprehensively supporting our customers with cutting-edge solutions powered by our proprietary EMS and technical expertise. This achievement demonstrates how our end-to-end system functions effectively in real commercial environments, solving our customers’ challenge of early market entry. Going forward, we will continue to work as one to realize Japan’s energy independence and a decarbonized society.”

■ Company Overview

Company Name: HOBE ENERGY Co., Ltd.

Representative: President and CEO Tsuyoshi Okino

Headquarters: 3F, Torei Nishishinbashi Building, 1-13-5 Nishishinbashi, Minato-ku, Tokyo 105-0003

Business: Battery storage solutions (small-scale, industrial, sodium batteries, EMS, integrated system design, installation support)

URL: https://hobeenergy.co.jp/

■ Partner Companies

Japan Energy Storage Development Institute Co., Ltd. (JESDI): https://japan-energystorage.co.jp/

RUTILEA Inc.: https://www.rutilea.com/

E-Top Co., Ltd.: https://etop-co.com/