Toho Gas commissions first grid-scale BESS, 11.4MW/69.6MWh NAS system in Mie Prefecture

May 19, 2025
Tsu Power Storage Station
Tsu Power Storage Station uses NGK Insulators’ NAS batteries. (Image: Toho Gas)

Toho Gas commissioned its first grid-scale battery storage asset, the 11.4MW/69.6MWh Tsu Power Storage Station in Tsu City, Mie Prefecture, on May 15, 2025.

According to the statement, Toho Gas will manage the charging and discharging of the Chubu TSO area facility. It will use it for balancing its own generation, as well as for trading in the wholesale, balancing, and capacity markets.

The company first announced its plan to build Tsu Power Storage Station at the former site of its Tsu LNG Station on August 19, 2022. The project was among 13 selected for METI’s inaugural, FY2021 revised budget subsidy scheme for large-scale energy storage. It received approximately 1.2 billion yen to cover a portion of engineering, equipment, and construction costs.

Instead of conventional lithium-ion batteries, the facility uses NAS (sodium-sulfur) batteries supplied by NGK Insulators, a ceramics manufacturer that was the first company to commercialize the technology.

Toho Gas has not announced any other specific BESS projects at this point. However, in November 2024, it announced that it invested in Power X, a battery systems manufacturer and renewable energy services provider. Separately from this project, in July 2023, NGK Insulators secured an order for another 69.6MWh system from SALA Energy. It will be used at the SALA Hamamatsu Storage Station, which is scheduled for completion in 2026.

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