Japanese automaker Honda and battery producer GS Yuasa plan to build and operate a joint lithium-ion battery factory in Japan, aiming to start production in 2027.
Blue Energy — a joint venture between the two companies launched in 2009 — will invest around ¥434bn ($3.21bn) to develop the plant with an annual capacity of 20GWh. The factory will be commissioned in April 2027, with commercial production starting in October that year. The goal is to reach full production in 2030.
Honda and GS Yuasa will also receive ¥158.7bn from the Japanese government in state financing. The project meets the criteria to receive state financing within the framework of the Japanese industrial transformation plan, in which batteries, along with chips and other materials, are designated as strategically critical materials.
The Japanese government is encouraging battery firms to consider more upstream investment, urging them to secure raw materials ahead of a possible supply shortage and price increases by the end of this decade.
The two companies, which formed a new joint venture in January this year, will continue to research and develop high-capacity, high-output storage batteries and manufacturing technology for mass production, they said. They will also manage relevant intellectual properties, and design and sell products incorporating the research and development results, build a supply chain of raw materials and outline production operations.
Honda is accelerating its efforts to secure EV batteries. The company has signed a supply agreement with China's largest battery producer CATL to receive 123GWh of batteries for its electric vehicles produced in China between 2024-30. More recently, it reached an agreement with Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing for the supply of chips. By 2030, it plans to increase annual sales of electric models to 3.5mn units — approximately 15pc of total sales.
