Completion of Battery Station Kawashiri, a Joint Project of JR Kyushu and Sumitomo Corporation Group- Setting the first in the world energy storage facility reused EV batteries along railroad lines -

Battery Station Kyushu LLC (Executors: Hiroki Kawano and Keita Kojima; hereinafter "Battery Station Kyushu"), sponsored by Kyushu Railway Company (President and CEO: Yoji Furumiya; hereinafter "JR Kyushu"), Sumitomo Corporation (Representative Director, President and CEO: Masayuki Hyodo), and Sumitomo Corporation Kyushu Co. Ltd. (President and CEO: Kazuyuki Takahashi; hereinafter "Sumitomo Corporation Kyushu"), has completed construction of its first project, "Battery Station Kawashiri" in Kumamoto City, Kumamoto Prefecture. After performance tests, energy storage facility will commerce service operation through ancillary market(*1) and capacity market(*2).

1. Battery Station Kyushu LLC: Business Areas

• To achieve carbon neutrality by 2050, it is crucial to stabilize electric power networks and bring them into the next generation, in anticipation of large-scale introduction of renewable energy. The amount of electricity generated by renewable energy fluctuates greatly with natural conditions including sunlight and wind, making it difficult to ensure a constant supply of electricity. Accordingly, grid storage batteries, which help to balance the supply and demand within the power system, are playing an increasingly important role as a key solution for the diffusion and expansion of renewable energy. This role is particularly important in Kyushu, where a large amount of renewable energy, especially solar power, has been introduced.
• Battery Station Kyushu will effectively use land along railroad lines and idle land managed by JR Kyushu, and will engage in the grid storage business by leveraging JR Kyushu's maintenance and management experience and the Sumitomo Corporation Group's practice and solution of energy storage business.

2. Battery Station Kawashiri

• At Battery Station Kawashiri, an energy storage facility has been constructed that was specially designed for the unique topography of the land along the railroad line. The storage batteries were provided by 4R Energy Corporation, a collaborative effort between Sumitomo Corporation and Nissan Motor Co., Ltd.. This partnership has engineered Battery Station Kawashiri into an EV battery station, repurposing EV batteries for stationary use within the electric power sector, thereby significantly enhancing the facility's economic value.

3. Future Business Development

• JR Kyushu, Sumitomo Corporation and Sumitomo Corporation Kyushu signed a partnership agreement with Kumamoto City on February 7, 2024 towards the realization of carbon neutrality. Starting with Battery Station Kawashiri, this business will be developed in Kumamoto City, while taking advantage of JR Kyushu's network and the Sumitomo Corporation Group's expertise in the energy storage business to expand the business to railroad lines and idle land across the entire Kyushu region. Using Battery Station Kyushu as a platform, Sumitomo Corporation plans to look into community energy services that will provide safety and security to the community, such as the release of power from storage batteries in the event of a disaster.

（ Reference：Partnership Agreement with Kumamoto City for the Realization of Carbon Neutrality ）

(*1) Ancillary market: A market for the "regulating power" necessary to control the electrical frequency and balance the supply and demand of electricity over a wide area comprising the whole of Japan.

(*2) Capacity market: The market that secures the future "supply power" (kW) of electricity in Japan.

■Battery Station Kyushu Company Profile

(*) BS Holdings : A wholly owned subsidiary of Sumitomo Corporation that holds and manages energy storage assets

■Battery Station Kawashiri Facility Overview