Trina Storage, the battery energy storage business of China’s Trinasolar, has been selected to supply battery storage systems for the 50 MW/196 MWh AEJ Nozu project in Oita Prefecture, Japan. The company announced the contract on October 14, with project completion scheduled for the third quarter of 2028.
Located in Nishihata, Nozu Town, Usuki City, the grid-scale facility will have a nominal storage duration of approximately 3.9 hours. It is being developed by Nozomi Energy, a Japanese renewable energy platform backed by infrastructure investor Actis, through its project company AEJ Nozu Storage Power Plant Contract Company.
The project secured a capacity contract in Japan’s fiscal 2023 Long-Term Decarbonization Auction, providing inflation-linked capacity payments over 20 years. Nozomi Energy reached financial close in September 2026 after securing non-recourse project financing from Japan’s Aozora Bank. The financing amount has not been disclosed.
China Energy Engineering Shanxi Electric Power Engineering Co., Ltd. has separately secured the engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contract for the project’s balance-of-plant works. The company said the development had obtained key land and grid-connection permits.
Trina Storage will supply its Elementa 2 Pro battery energy storage solution, built around standardized 5 MWh containerized units. According to the manufacturer’s technical documentation, the system uses its proprietary 314 Ah lithium iron phosphate (LFP) cells, with a nominal energy capacity of 5.015 MWh per container and a DC voltage architecture approaching 1,500 V.
The system is housed in a standard 20-foot high-cube container and incorporates liquid cooling, battery monitoring and multiple layers of safety protection. Trina Storage says its thermal management design maintains cell temperature differences within 2.5 C, while the system features IP67-rated battery modules and an IP55-rated enclosure.
Additional safety features include temperature and smoke monitoring, active ventilation and fire suppression systems. Trina Storage specifies a cell cycle life of up to 12,000 cycles for the product, although the company has not disclosed project-specific operating assumptions or performance guarantees for the Nozu installation.
The manufacturer said its Japanese operations will support system configuration, technical consultation, delivery coordination and after-sales services, working with local project partners to address technical and regulatory requirements.
“For Nozu and other projects in Japan, our focus is on combining advanced technology with strong local capabilities,” said Leo Zhao, head of energy storage for Asia-Pacific at Trina Storage.
The contract adds to Trina Storage’s Japanese project portfolio, which includes a separate 160 MWh utility-scale BESS in the Kyushu region. In September, the company also signed a memorandum of understanding with Japanese developer AMP-lify covering approximately 1 GWh of potential grid-connected storage projects using its newer Elementa 3 series.
Nozu is among the battery storage developments supported by Japan’s long-term decarbonization capacity mechanism, which is intended to encourage investment in low-carbon generation and flexible power resources.
The project’s long-term contracted capacity revenue provides greater revenue visibility for its developer, while construction, equipment delivery and commissioning remain ahead of its planned 2028 completion. The value of Trina Storage’s supply contract and the project’s total investment cost have not been disclosed.
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