NGK Receives Order for NAS Batteries Intended for Grid Storage by Toho Gas ~ Will Help to Stabilize Electrical Power Supply and Demand and Promote the Spread of Renewable Energy

NGK INSULATORS, LTD. (hereinafter “NGK”) has received an order for NAS batteries for electrical power storage intended as those for grid storage from Toho Gas Co., Ltd. (hereinafter “Toho Gas”).

The NAS batteries that Toho Gas ordered have an output of 11,400 kW (11.4 MW) and a capacity of 69,600 kWh (69.6 MWh, equivalent to one day’s worth of electrical power consumption by approximately 6,000 average households) and will be installed at the former site of Toho Gas’s Tsu LNG station, with construction set to begin this month. The batteries will be directly connected to an electrical power grid as the same for grid storage and are intended to stabilize the supply and demand of electrical power by storing electrical power when there is an excess supply and discharging it during shortages. With the introduction of these batteries for grid storage, Toho Gas was selected as a business operator for the “Business to Support the Introduction of Storage Batteries for Power Grids to Accelerate the Introduction of Renewable Energy (Revised Budget FY2021)” * led by the Sustainable open Innovation Initiative, and it is expected that the batteries will stabilize the supply and demand of electrical power supply while promoting the spread of renewable energy.

Although further introduction of renewable power generation, including solar and wind power, is anticipated to achieve carbon neutrality, the fact that the amount of power generated is affected by seasons and weather presents a challenge for renewable energy. Furthermore, handling the tightening supply and demand of electrical power due to factors such as climate change is becoming a social issue. Charging and discharging batteries for grid storage in line with supply and demand for electrical power can help to solve these issues.

NAS batteries have been installed at more than 200 locations worldwide. They are used for load leveling and providing supply and demand alignment capabilities by harnessing their unique properties which include enabling discharge over long periods of time with a large capacity. NGK will continue to meet demand for large capacity storage batteries, such as those for grid storage, strive to stabilize the supply and demand for electrical power and promote the spread of renewable energy, while helping to realize a carbon-neutral society.

*Business to Support the Introduction of Storage Batteries for Power Grids to Accelerate the Introduction of Renewable Energy: A business that subsidizes a portion of expenses for those who introduce storage batteries or water electrolysis equipment in Japan, enabling the provision of alignment capabilities to handle fluctuations in the output of renewable energy and absorption of excess electrical power with the objective of accelerating the introduction of renewable energy and arranging environments that can fully harness its potential to meet the goal of achieving carbon neutrality by 2050.

＜overview of the ordered NAS batteries >

Installed site : Former site of Toho Gas’s Tsu LNG station (Tsu City, Mie Prefecture)

Output : 11,400 kW (11.4 MW)

Capacity : 69,600 kWh (69.6 MWh)

Number of units to be installed : 48 NAS batteries (container type unit)

Applications : Provision of electrical power to capacity markets, supply and demand adjustment markets, wholesale markets, and others, and adjustment to supply and demand for electrical power

Start of construction : August 2022 (planned)

Start of operation : Fiscal 2025 (planned)

NAS batteries (container type unit)