Even Honda is pivoting to data centers

本田汽车也开始转向数据中心业务

Honda this week began production of batteries destined for energy storage systems, according to a report from Nikkei Asia. The milestone makes Honda the latest car company to dive into the red-hot energy market. 据《日经亚洲》报道，本田汽车本周开始生产用于储能系统的电池。这一里程碑事件使本田成为最新一家进军火热能源市场的汽车公司。

The automaker’s shift toward energy storage comes three months after Honda canceled its EV programs in the U.S. Batteries for the EVs were slated to be made at a factory in Ohio, which Honda operates under a joint venture with LG Energy Solution. Now, those cells are headed to data centers instead of driveways. 在取消美国电动汽车项目三个月后，这家汽车制造商转向了储能领域。原计划用于这些电动汽车的电池本应在俄亥俄州的一家工厂生产，该工厂由本田与 LG 能源解决方案公司（LG Energy Solution）合资运营。现在，这些电池将不再用于汽车，而是被送往数据中心。

Honda’s pivot comes as demand for EVs in the U.S. remains soft following the GOP’s cancellation of tax credits, which were intended to spur EV and battery production in the U.S. Sales of new EVs remain down year-over-year, in part because consumers pulled forward their purchases to take advantage of the tax credits, which disappeared last September. 本田的转型正值美国电动汽车需求疲软之际，此前共和党取消了旨在刺激美国电动汽车和电池生产的税收抵免政策。新电动汽车的销量同比持续下滑，部分原因是消费者为了利用去年 9 月取消的税收抵免政策而提前购车。

That uncertainty led Honda to dramatically shift gears, canceling three EVs that were destined for the U.S. market. The automaker wrote down $15.7 billion last fiscal year, in part to restructure its EV strategy. Its weakening China business, where EVs have soared, also contributed to the write-down. 这种不确定性促使本田大幅调整战略，取消了三款原定于美国市场推出的电动汽车。该汽车制造商在上个财年减记了 157 亿美元，部分原因是重组其电动汽车战略。其在中国业务的疲软（尽管中国电动汽车市场增长迅猛）也导致了此次减记。

But despite the restructuring, Honda didn’t dissolve its joint venture with LG Energy. And like seemingly every other automaker, including Tesla, Ford, and GM, Honda decided that batteries are a big business on their own. 尽管进行了重组，但本田并未解散与 LG 能源的合资企业。而且，就像特斯拉、福特和通用汽车等其他所有汽车制造商一样，本田也认定电池本身就是一项大生意。

The market for stationary storage has been booming, growing 32% year-over-year, according to a report from SEIA and Benchmark Minerals. In the first quarter of this year, 9.7 gigawatt-hours of energy storage systems were installed. That’s enough batteries to build roughly 120,000 EVs. 根据美国太阳能工业协会（SEIA）和 Benchmark Minerals 的一份报告，固定式储能市场一直在蓬勃发展，同比增长了 32%。今年第一季度，安装了 9.7 吉瓦时的储能系统。这些电池足以制造大约 12 万辆电动汽车。

The breakneck growth is expected to continue. By the end of the decade, the report estimates that 110 gigawatt-hours of energy storage will be installed every year, nearly tripling the size of the market. It’s been a profitable market, too. Tesla, which has claimed the majority of sales so far, rakes in 30% gross profits on its Megapacks and Powerwalls, about twice its margin on vehicles. 这种飞速增长预计将持续下去。报告估计，到本十年末，每年将安装 110 吉瓦时的储能设备，市场规模将扩大近三倍。这也是一个利润丰厚的市场。迄今为止占据大部分销量的特斯拉，其 Megapacks 和 Powerwalls 产品的毛利率高达 30%，约为其汽车业务利润率的两倍。

Many stationary batteries have been installed at data centers, but a large chunk of them end up connected to the grid. As battery prices have fallen, they’ve carved out a sizable niche stabilizing the grid while also augmenting wind and solar installations, making them more predictable generating sources. 许多固定式电池已被安装在数据中心，但其中很大一部分最终被连接到电网。随着电池价格的下降，它们在稳定电网方面占据了相当大的市场份额，同时也增强了风能和太阳能设施的效能，使其成为更具可预测性的发电来源。

Honda may not be sure how to approach the EV market in the U.S., but it’s clear it wants in on the energy transition in one form or another. 本田或许还不确定如何切入美国电动汽车市场，但显而易见的是，它希望以某种形式参与到能源转型中来。