SoftBank Group¡¯s mobile unit said it plans to begin large-scale battery cell manufacturing at its plant in Sakai, Osaka Prefecture, to address growing power demand for AI services.

SoftBank Corp. will partner with South Korea¡¯s Cosmos Lab and DeltaX to enable mass production from the fiscal year starting next April, the company said in a statement Monday. The aim is to output energy storage systems at a scale of 1 gigawatt hour per year, SoftBank said, which would make it one of the largest facilities in Japan, according to data from BloombergNEF. SoftBank could scale up to a capacity of several GWh, Bloomberg reported last month.

The batteries will be used to help power the AI data centers that SoftBank is developing. The company also plans to provide them for grid applications, factories and other industrial and residential uses, it said. Over the medium term, SoftBank will also look to expand into global markets.

Under the plan, SoftBank will set up two ventures: AX Factory to serve as a hub for AI data center operations and hardware manufacturing, and GX Factory that will serve as a manufacturing hub for next-generation batteries, solar panels and related products. The company aims to generate an annual revenue of over ?100 billion ($636 million) through its new battery business by fiscal 2030.

Cosmos will help with the development of safer battery cells, using its zinc-halogen technology, while DeltaX has expertise in high energy-density designs.

The new venture highlights SoftBank Corp. CEO Junichi Miyakawa¡¯s long-term strategy to transform the telecom firm into an AI enabler. The company is also working to upgrade its nationwide mobile networks to better meet the needs of AI devices, including warehouse robots.

The SoftBank unit¡¯s foray into battery manufacturing is also in line with founder Masayoshi Son¡¯s ambitions to carve out a bigger role for himself and SoftBank in the global AI race.