Mitsubishi Electric Corporation announced that it has been awarded a contract by the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) to supply space-use lithium-ion batteries for the Gateway, a lunar orbiting space station. Under the “Joint Exploration Declaration of Intent for Lunar Cooperation (JEDI)” signed on July 10, 2020, by the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science, and Technology of Japan and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration of the United States of America, Japan has agreed to provide batteries for the Gateway space station in the Artemis Program for lunar exploration of the United States.

Mitsubishi Electric, which manufactures high-performance space-use lithium-ion batteries that have received human-rating certification for supporting the safe transportation of astronauts was selected based on the advanced technologies that the company deployed in developing and manufacturing the HTV-X, a new unmanned cargo transfer spacecraft, as well as the company’s track record of supplying batteries for domestic and international commercial satellites and the proven reliability of such products. 

This will be the third time for Mitsubishi Electric to provide space-use lithium-ion batteries for the Artemis Program, including the Habitation and Logistics Outpost (HALO) and the International Habitation Module (I-Hab).

Apart from the Artemis Program in Japan, Mitsubishi Electric has also supplied lithium-ion battery cells to Maxar Space Systems in the United States for use in the Gateway's Power and Propulsion Element (PPE). Mitsubishi Electric looks forward to further contributing to the Artemis Program by leveraging its established technologies for manufacturing power-supply equipment for use in space.

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