As generative AI drives a surge in global computing power demand, the massive power consumption and energy storage issues of data centers have become a serious challenge that tech giants must face. According toNikkei News obtained informationJapan's Softbank plans to enter into a strategic partnership with South Korean startup Cosmos Lab to jointly develop and manufacture next-generation batteries that do not rely on expensive rare metals such as lithium and cobalt.
This production project is expected to be located in a former LCD panel factory near Osaka, Japan, formerly owned by Sharp. This move not only represents Softbank's significant investment in AI infrastructure but also signals a strong desire for a breakthrough in the global energy supply chain.
Abandoning scarce metals: Breaking free from the dual constraints of energy storage costs and geopolitics
In the current battery industry, lithium-ion batteries remain the mainstream. However, both lithium and cobalt, these key metals, are not only expensive and subject to volatile prices, but their mining and refining processes also face significant geopolitical risks (for example, cobalt mining is highly concentrated in the Democratic Republic of Congo, while refining capacity is highly concentrated in China).
Softbank's collaboration with the South Korean startup Cosmos Lab is driven by a core objective of breaking free from the constraints of traditional materials. While the report did not reveal the specific chemical formula used by Cosmos Lab (alternatives currently being actively explored in the industry include sodium-ion, zinc-based, or novel flow batteries), the "lithium-free and cobalt-free" characteristics mean that future battery manufacturing costs are expected to decrease significantly, and the battery supply chain will become more resilient. This is extremely attractive to data centers that require ultra-large-scale energy storage systems.
Revitalizing Sharp's Old Plant: Softbank's AI Infrastructure Dream
It is worth noting that the production base for this next-generation battery is located on the site of Sharp's former LCD panel factory near Osaka.
With the relocation of the panel industry, many traditional LCD factories in Japan are at a crossroads of being either idle or undergoing transformation. Softbank's choice to set up a factory here not only effectively revitalizes existing industrial assets and saves initial time and costs in factory construction, but also echoes the Japanese government's recent national policy of actively promoting the recovery of the domestic supply chain and strengthening economic security.
More importantly, this battery investment plan perfectly aligns with Softbank's core strategy of fully shifting towards "AI services" in recent years.
From the recent strong growth of its subsidiary Arm, which provides chip design, to Masayoshi Son's repeated emphasis on the AI vision, Softbank understands that future AI dominance is not only built on algorithms and chips, but also on massive computing infrastructure. Stable, cost-effective next-generation batteries and their associated energy storage systems are the final piece of the puzzle to support the 24/7 operation of these AI data centers.
