Japanese rivals race for lithium batteries
The race to develop lithium ion batteries is shifting into high gear.
Last week Japanese electronics giant Sanyo Electric Co. was the latest to say it will start mass-producing the advanced hybrid-vehicle batteries next year. It also said it has added a partner: Germany’s Volkswagen AG.
The move stokes a race among several Japanese companies for the lead in green vehicles.
Just a week earlier, not only did Nissan Motor Co. and NEC Corp. announce their plan to start making lithium ion batteries next year, but Toyota Motor Corp. said it will build two hybrid-vehicle battery plants with its partner, Matsushita Electric Industrial Co.
Lithium ion batteries will significantly boost the market for low-emission gasoline-electric hybrid and pure electric vehicles. The vehicles are lighter and more powerful than those powered by the nickel-metal hydride batteries now used in hybrids such as the popular Toyota Prius. Hybrids use an internal combustion engine and one or more electric batteries to power the wheels.
Sanyo is already a world leader in making lithium ion batteries, mostly for such devices as laptop computers and mobile phones. Last week the company said it will build a plant in western Japan’s Tokushima prefecture to make the batteries for hybrid vehicles.
The plant will open in March and aims to supply 20,000 units a year.
Several companies, including Toyota and General Motors, plan to roll out vehicles equipped with lithium ion batteries starting in 2010. But the batteries themselves have been dogged by safety concerns about overheating and by technical and cost hurdles.
| The battery pack Here’s a breakdown of Japan’s lithium ion battery teams. Sanyo Electric Co.: Working with Ford, Honda and, soon, Volkswagen. Mass production to start in 2009 with annual output of 20,000 battery packs. Matsushita Electric Industrial Co.: Working with Toyota, which plans lithium ion plug-in hybrid for 2010. NEC Corp.: Working with Nissan and Renault. Mass production to start in 2009 with initial output of 13,000 vehicles a year. GS Yuasa Corp.: Working with Mitsubishi Motors. Mass production in 2009. |
Sanyo envisions savings through economies of scale. The company is spending ¥80 billion ($776.7 million) on new lithium equipment. The target is total production capacity of 10 million cells a month by 2015.
Sanyo said it also is ramping up development of a lithium ion battery that can be used in plug-in electric hybrid vehicles. The company aims to start selling those in 2011. The batteries of plug-in hybrids can be charged with home current. In addition to Volkswagen, Sanyo works with Ford Motor Co. and Honda Motor Co. on lithium ion batteries.
GM has not selected a supplier for the lithium ion batteries to be used in the Chevrolet Volt plug-in hybrid (pictured above).
GM has awarded two development contracts. One went to Compact Power Inc., of suburban Detroit, a subsidiary of South Korea’s LG Chem. The other was awarded to Continental Automotive Systems, which will assemble battery packs using cells made by Johnson Controls-Saft Advanced Power Solutions and other suppliers.
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