MK Taxi installs Japan's first vanadium-ion battery energy storage system at Kyoto HQ

MK Group's taxi operator MK Co. installed Standard Energy's vanadium-ion battery energy storage system (VIB ESS) at its Kyoto headquarters garage to support EV rapid-charging infrastructure, marking the technology's first deployment in Japan. The system, supplied by South Korea's Standard Energy and distributed via LB Hunet with support from Mitsubishi Corp's Korea unit, will undergo a one-year demonstration from July 2026 before a decision on full-scale rollout, aiming to reduce peak electricity demand charges as MK expands its EV taxi fleet toward full ZEV conversion by 2030.