SoftBank plans large-scale battery cell manufacturing for AI services
The Japanese conglomerate is converting a former Sharp LCD factory in Osaka into a gigawatt-hour-scale battery plant to fuel its growing AI data center empire.
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Add us on Google by Editorial Team May. 10, 2026SoftBank Corp. is getting into the battery business. The company’s mobile unit announced on April 24 that it will repurpose a massive factory in Sakai, Osaka, into a battery cell production facility designed to power its expanding fleet of AI data centers.
From LCD screens to energy storage
The facility in question is a 440,000-square-meter factory that SoftBank acquired for approximately 100 billion yen, or roughly $676 million. It originally belonged to Sharp and was built to manufacture LCD panels. Now it will make battery cells instead.
Production is expected to begin in fiscal year 2027, with the company targeting several gigawatt-hours of mass production capacity by fiscal year 2028. Full capacity is projected for around 2031.
SoftBank hasn’t disclosed which battery chemistry it plans to use. The choice between lithium-ion variants, solid-state, or something else entirely will determine cost structures, energy density, and how competitive these cells can be against established manufacturers like CATL or Panasonic.
Why batteries, why now
SoftBank is a participant in the Stargate initiative, the $500 billion AI infrastructure project. The battery manufacturing initiative is designed to integrate with the company’s existing solar energy capabilities, which already exceed 3 gigawatts.
The company has also signaled that it may extend battery-related services to other firms in Japan, potentially turning a cost center into a revenue stream.
The debt elephant in the room
SoftBank’s approximately $135 billion in debt is impossible to ignore when evaluating any new capital-intensive initiative. The Sakai factory acquisition alone cost $676 million, and that’s before the retooling, equipment, hiring, and R&D expenses that come with standing up a new production line in a highly competitive industry.
What this means for investors
This is fundamentally an infrastructure play, not a crypto story. Despite SoftBank’s history of crypto-adjacent investments through its Vision Fund, the battery initiative has no blockchain or digital currency component.
The gap between fiscal year 2027 pilot production and the 2031 full-capacity target is four years. Watch for the battery chemistry announcement, which will reveal whether SoftBank is building for cost efficiency or cutting-edge performance, and will determine how this initiative stacks up against established battery manufacturers with decades of manufacturing expertise.
Disclosure: This article was edited by Editorial Team. For more information on how we create and review content, see our Editorial Policy.
