Nippon Chikudenchi secured 4.9 billion yen in non-recourse project finance from Ricoh Leasing for a portfolio of 14 merchant high-voltage grid-scale battery storage facilities across Japan, the companies announced on April 27, 2026.
Asset manager Eco Properties said the projects, all of which are 2MW/8MWh, will be held in the special purpose company (SPC) NC Litos LLC. The portfolio includes six operational assets commissioned between November 2025 and March 2026. Seven facilities are expected to be brought online between June and December 2026, with the last one following in April 2027.
Six of the projects are in Kyushu, four in Chugoku, two in Chubu, and one each in the Tohoku and Tokyo TSO areas.
NC Litos is the first Nippon Chikudenchi affiliated SPC funded using project finance. It follows NC Pioneer, which was launched with investment from Remixpoint to acquire seven assets, and one other SPC with equity investment from an undisclosed partner.
The transaction highlights growing willingness among lenders in Japan to finance merchant battery storage projects without contracted revenues on a non-recourse basis.
