(Cosmos Lab)
Japan’s SoftBank Group Corp., led by Masayoshi Son, will partner with South Korean startup Cosmos Lab Co. to commercialize zinc-based batteries, according to a report by the Nikkei on Monday.
Cosmos Lab has been developing zinc-halogen batteries that use zinc instead of rare metals such as lithium or cobalt used in conventional batteries.
The startup has also drawn attention in Korea for using water as an electrolyte, eliminating fire risks.
SoftBank plans to establish a production base around 2027 on the site of Sharp Corp.’s former factory in Sakai, Osaka Prefecture, which it acquired from Sharp last year.
If improvements in performance – such as higher energy density and longer battery lifespan – made by Cosmos Lab prove successful, mass production will begin.
The batteries produced will first be used in large-scale data centers that SoftBank is building at the Sakai site.
SoftBank is also considering investing tens of billions of yen by 2030 to expand battery production capacity to around 1 gigawatt-hour (GWh).
According to Nikkei, SoftBank plans to include its entry into battery manufacturing in a new mid-term management plan to be announced later this month, aiming to foster the production and sales of next-generation batteries as a new business and target annual revenue of 100 billion yen ($636.78 million).
댓글
0