Japan Data Center Update 28: Workload Shifting and GX Strategy Drive Japan’s Data Center Decentralization

PowerX and HIGHRESO jointly explore BESS-equipped GPU data centers

BESS manufacturer PowerX and GPU data center operator HIGHRESO have signed an MoU to explore collaboration on energy infrastructure supporting GPU data centers and AI computing infrastructure.

GPU data centers are highly power-intensive, making co-located BESS potentially valuable for reducing electricity costs, additional revenue through market participation, and providing resilience.

The companies will consider collaboration in two main areas: deploying BESS alongside GPU data centers, and jointly developing the overall business, covering site identification, financing, and data center development and operation. They will also assess the commercial viability and system design of using BESS as an emergency power source and for other applications that strengthen data center business continuity.

Leading BESS manufacturer and GPU data center operator partner up (Source: HIGHRESO).

Kyushu Electric and partners join forces ahead of potential GX Strategic Zone designation

Satsumasendai City, Kagoshima University, Kyushu Electric Power, and Sony Network Communications signed a partnership agreement in anticipation of a data center cluster in Satsumasendai, Kagoshima Prefecture, including a planned 350 MW facility that would be among Japan’s largest data centers.

In April, Satsumasendai was selected as a promising area for designation as a GX Strategic Zone, a government initiative intended to concentrate investment in green and growth industries, including regional data centers.

Energy availability could be a key advantage. The city hosts Kyushu Electric Power’s Sendai Nuclear Power Plant, while Kyushu also has abundant renewable energy resources. Leveraging this access to decarbonized power, Satsumasendai aims to secure final designation under GX Strategic Zone System, expected around summer.

MIC launches seven projects to test data center workload shifting

The Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications (MIC) will launch new demonstration projects to advance Watt-Bit collaboration, which involves the integrated development of power infrastructure and data centers. The projects will examine the optimal operation of geographically distributed data centers and the feasibility of workload shifting (WLS), which moves computing demand across different times and locations. MIC selected seven projects, involving TEPCO Holdings and other major electric utilities and utility-affiliated telecommunications companies.

The projects will use an All-Photonics Network (APN), a next-generation communications technology that transmits information optically without converting it into electrical signals. By connecting multiple remote data centers through an APN, the projects aim to enable high-capacity, low-latency data center operations. The demonstration period will run through February 2027, with the possibility of further projects in the future.

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