Joint venture to make lithium-ion batteries for electric cars - Joint venture

India (SANEPR.com) July 18, 2008 -- TOKYO: Nissan Motor, NEC Corp. and NEC Tokin Corp. said on Monday their battery venture would invest ¥12 billion yen, or $115 million, over three years to manufacture lithium-ion batteries starting next year for use in next-generation green vehicles.
Lithium-ion batteries are considered key to making gasoline-electric hybrid cars more cost-competitive and to making pure electric cars practical by reducing the volume of battery packs needed to power them.
Automotive Energy Supply Corp., or AESC, the three-way joint venture announced last year, would initially have capacity to build 13,000 units a year at a planned factory in Kanagawa, near Tokyo, first supplying batteries for forklifts in 2009.
It would ramp up annual capacity gradually to 65,000 units in 2011 for use in Nissan's in-house hybrid car and electric vehicles due in 2010.
A breakthrough by Nissan and the NEC group in the highly contested battery business could put the third-biggest Japanese automaker back in the game for offering environmentally friendly vehicles after trailing its bigger rivals, Toyota Motor and Honda Motor, for the past decade.
Over the past year, Nissan has announced big plans for electric vehicles, including their introduction in Japan and the United States in 2010, followed by a launch in Israel and Denmark in 2011 along with its French partner, Renault. It wants to mass-market electric cars globally from 2012.
"Nissan is determined to become a leader in this next shift in global mobility," Carlos Tavares , Nissan executive vice president, told a news conference, adding that the venture's advanced battery technology was critical in reaching that goal.
AESC also wants to supply the rest of the industry, but acknowledged that competition was fierce.
"There are more than 10 rivals competing in this field," said Masahiko Otsuka, the AESC president.
The venture had approached more than 20 companies since marketing operations began last year, Otsuka said, declining to say how many of the 65,000 units planned for production in 2011 would be supplied outside the Nissan-Renault group.
Toyota Motor, Honda Motor and Mitsubishi Motors are all working on their own lithium-ion batteries in separate joint ventures.
Mitsubishi Motors, which has also been aggressive in promoting electric vehicles, is due to begin producing lithium-ion batteries by 2009 in a joint venture with Mitsubishi Corp. and GS Yuasa Corp.
AESC also said Monday that it had raised its capital to ¥2.99 billion from ¥490 million, with Nissan increasing its stake to 51 percent from 50 percent. NEC holds 42 percent and NEC Tokin has 7 percent.


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