Smart grid company Moixa has signed a strategic partnership with Itochu Corporation to take its Gridshare platform to Japan. Itochu will also invest £5m in the firm.
Moixa’s Gridshare software manages home energy storage systems. Itochu has sold thousands of home battery units in Japan and will install the software as standard from summer onwards.
The British company says its technology saves customers money by using artificial intelligence to optimise the performance of their battery based on their patterns of behaviour, the weather conditions and market prices. It can also help network operators balance power grids.
Itochu also supplies battery chemistry to energy storage firms and will work with Moixa to promote Gridshare to those companies.
“Moixa has pioneered battery management, and we are proud to be investing and working together to target the rapidly growing energy storage market in Japan,” said Koji Hasegawa, general manager of industrial chemicals department at Itochu. “Moixa’s Gridshare will help our customers get more value for their home batteries and will offer solutions to help our partners manage Japan’s low-carbon transition.”
Moixa CEO Simon Daniel, said: “Itochu is a major player in the global battery market and this partnership provides a real opportunity for us to expand our business in Japan and provide Gridshare technology to many global battery companies.”
Moixa has already received investment from Japan’s largest utility company, Tepco, which is also investing in blockchain solutions.
The firm is involved in UK smart grid trials and plans further trials in the US and Europe later this year, as well as with Japanese utilities and electric vehicle manufacturers.
The company states it has installed almost 1,000 systems in the UK.
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