Toyota-Panasonic JV to Begin Production of Prismatic Lithium-ion Batteries

Prime Planet Energy a JV of Toyota and Panasonic, has announced it will begin production of prismatic lithium-ion batteries for hybrid vehicles in Japan

Prime Planet Energy & Solutions, a joint venture (JV) company of Toyota Motor Corporation and Panasonic, has announced that it will begin production of prismatic lithium-ion batteries for hybrid vehicles in Tokushima Prefecture of Japan.

To this end, the firm has announced that it will establish a new battery production line within the existing Tokushima factory of the Energy Solutions Business Division, Industrial Solutions Company, Panasonic Corporation.

The company stated that “as electrification of automobiles is a must in tackling environmental issues such as global warming and air pollution, the global electric vehicle market is expected to continue growing rapidly. This expansion in production capability is a step that allows Prime Planet Energy & Solutions to handle the growing demand for prismatic lithium-ion batteries for hybrid vehicles.”

The production line at a Panasonic factory in Tokushima prefecture will have enough capacity to build batteries for around 500,000 vehicles a year, the firm has confirmed.

The JV started operations in April 2020 as a joint venture for automotive prismatic batteries (owned 51 percent by Toyota Motor Corporation and 49 percent by Panasonic Corporation). The concept was first imagined in December 2017, when Toyota Motor Corporation and Panasonic Corporation agreed to start studying the feasibility of a joint automotive prismatic battery business.

It was announced that the JV will develop highly competitive, cost-effective batteries that are safe and feature excellent quality and performance (in terms of capacity, output, durability, etc.), enabling use with peace of mind by all customers. Furthermore, the joint venture will supply batteries not only to Toyota but also, broadly and stably, to all customers.

Key operations the JV will be involved in are:

• Development, manufacture, and sales of high-capacity and high-output automotive prismatic lithium-ion batteries,
• Development, manufacture, and sales of automotive solid-state batteries,
• Development, manufacture, and sales of next-generation automotive batteries other than those mentioned above (including batteries based on new principles),
• Ancillary and other operations related to the above.