13 February 2023

Sumitomo Electric Industries, Ltd. has announced that it will expand its redox flow battery business in the United States. The announcement was made at DISTRIBUTECH International 2023, one of the world's largest Smart Grid related technology conferences, which was held in San Diego from February 7 to 9. The company intends to study the possibility of establishing a manufacturing system for redox flow batteries in North America.


As the worldwide adoption of renewable energy continues to move forward, the large-scale introduction of storage batteries has become indispensable. Sumitomo Electric’s redox flow batteries have been highly regarded for their use in applications such as grid-side supply and demand adjustment, microgrid operation in emergencies, and energy trading in the ancillary services market.


In keeping with the company’s pledge to contribute to GX (Green Transformation) around the world by offering redox flow batteries, Sumitomo Electric announced plans at DISTRIBUTECH to expand its redox flow battery business in the United States, the world’s largest market for technologies related to renewable energy, including solutions for long-duration energy storage. The company received many positive comments from U.S. operators at the conference about the potential of its redox flow batteries.

Sumitomo Electric’s redox flow batteries are characterized by high safety, design flexibility, and their longer life compared to other batteries. The lifetime of the battery is more than 20 years, its electrolyte can be used semi-permanently, and there is no limit to the number of charge/discharge cycles.


In regard to its plans for North America, the company will be making an initial investment of about $7,600,000 to prepare for a local production and installation system for redox flow batteries.


Sumitomo Electric will continue to work toward the realization of a “green,” environmentally-friendly society and aim to realize a sustainable society.



Related item:
Sumitomo Electric Exhibits at DISTRIBUTECH International 2023 (Press release: January 30, 2023)