Star Seeds entered into a partnership agreement with Sumirekai Group, an operator of over 150 hospitals and nursing homes around Japan, the publicly listed fashion retailer planning an expansion into the energy industry said on March 21, 2025.
Under the agreement signed on March 19, 2025, Star Seeds will use unutilized land owned by Sumirekai Group for the development of grid-scale BESS facilities. The company has not disclosed further details such as the target number of assets to be developed or the development timeline.
Star Seeds currently focuses on online and brick-and-mortar fashion retail and battery storage will be its first foray into the energy business. The partnership with Sumirekai Group follows the start of its discussions about a potential BESS-focused partnership with Daisun, a Hiroshima-based company active in multiple fields including solar power plant development, EPC, and operation and maintenance (O&M).
METI data shows Daisun and its affiliates own over 100 mostly low-voltage operational FIT and FIP power plants. Daisun does not appear to be involved in grid-scale battery storage yet.
Rising demand for battery storage amid a growth in non-dispatchable renewable capacity is prompting not only companies with experience in energy but also from unrelated industries to develop grid-scale BESS assets. Star Seeds’ announcement follows a similar move made earlier this year by 4Cs Holdings, a publicly traded company primarily involved in the cosmetics business.
