Japan – GS Yuasa to jump on EV battery bandwagon.
GS Yuasa will enter the market for electric-vehicle batteries as early as next year, President Osamu Murao told Nikkei, shifting focus from hybrids to follow the industry’s global pivot to fully electric models.
The Japanese battery maker recently formed a department for the project, bringing in engineers from its hybrid and plug-in hybrid operations. The team aims to develop lithium-ion cells with the energy density and durability needed for EVs, and also serve as a point of contact with automakers and other customers.
Osamu Murao said recently, said:
We’ll mark a full start on EV batteries under our new medium-term plan starting in fiscal 2023,.
GS Yuasa makes batteries for standard and plug-in hybrids through Lithium Energy Japan, a joint venture with partners including trading house Mitsubishi Corp., and Blue Energy, a venture with Honda Motor.
The manufacturer also plans to work with partners on EV batteries, to split the cost of new production facilities.
Automotive lead-acid batteries are GS Yuasa’s mainstay product, for which it holds the largest share of the Japanese market by far, covering roughly 70% of new vehicles. The company also has made over 1.4 million lithium-ion batteries for hybrids since 2009.
Research firm Fuji Keizai expects the market for lithium-ion batteries for electric vehicles to double between 2020 and 2025 to roughly 9.4 trillion yen ($63.5 billion).
Japan’s GS Yuasa to jump on EV battery bandwagon, Kyoto, Jaspan, November 3, 2022
