California Battery Startup Goes Global With Storage in Japan

(Bloomberg) -- Stem Inc., a California firm that provides energy storage solutions, is deploying a network of systems in Japan with Mitsui & Co. Ltd., marking its first foray into Asian markets. The companies, which gained an endorsement from Japan’s Ministry of Energy, Trade and Infrastructure, will install a “virtual power plant” made up initially of aggregated storage systems that’ll supply 750 kilowatt-hours of capacity to the grid.

The project’s designed to help even out the fluctuations in solar and wind power in Japan as the country works to deregulate its electricity markets and ramp up renewables. Stem already has battery systems in California, Hawaii, Texas, and New York.

To contact the reporter on this story: Mark Chediak in San Francisco at mchediak@bloomberg.net.

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Lynn Doan at ldoan6@bloomberg.net.

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