Fujifilm Develops LTO Ultrium 10 Tapes with 40 TB Capacity
Fujifilm has announced it will start shipping its new LTO Ultrium 10 archival tapes in January 2026. The product is meant for organizations requiring long-term, high-volume data storage solutions.
These new tape cartridges, admirable as they are with a native storage capacity of 40 TB (that can be stretched to 100 TB with a little compression technology), are totally backwards compatible with the LTO-10 drives already in use. Thus, organizations can enjoy an enhanced level of storage density without the expense of updating their existing hardware.
Technological Improvements
The capacity increase was made possible by upgrading the physical tape media. Fujifilm's engineers worked on improving the composition of the magnetic particles along with the introduction of a thinner aramid core. With this design change, about 30% more tape can be stuffed in a regular 0.8'' thick cartridge while not compromising on reliability and life of the tape. Furthermore, the tapes also support more relaxed acceptable levels of temperature and humidity, which is a huge advantage for archives that are not located inside normal data centers.
Market Context and Pricing
The LTO-10 standard, which specified a maximum capacity of 40 TB, was established back in June of 2025. Therefore, Fujifilm is commercializing this capacity. While pricing for the new 40 TB cartridges has yet to be divulged, the rising cost of LTO-10 drives, estimated to be higher than $10,000, remains one of the key barriers to adoption.
