Honda-GS Yuasa form Li-Ion battery joint venture

[xcel]

With the recently announced Sanyo/Panasonic EV_(jointly owned by Toyota) battery company merger, Honda looks to another source for its future HEV_battery supply.

Wayne Gerdes – CleanMPG – Dec. 17, 2008

GS Yuasa currently supplies the Li-Ion batteries used in Mitsubishi’s award winning MiEV BEV.

TOKYO -- GS Yuasa and Honda announced they have reached a basic agreement to establish a joint venture company which will manufacture, sell and conduct cooperative R&D for high-performance Li-Ion batteries to be used mainly in hybrid electric vehicles (HEV’s). The two companies aim to establish the new company sometime this coming spring with joint ownership consisting of 51% by GS Yuasa and 49% by Honda.

Hybrid and future BEV and FCV vehicles are expected to move into the mass-market stage as an effective environmentally-responsible technology from the standpoint of reducing CO2 emissions and reducing dependence on an ever depleting natural resource. That being crude oil. The Li-Ion battery offers energy density and power density much higher than NiMH, and demand for Li-Ion batteries is expected to grow in the future as the battery of choice for hybrid and BEV/FCV equipped vehicles. GS Yuasa and Honda just as all other environmentally driven automobile and battery manufacturers see the development of smaller and lighter Li-Ion batteries with improved performance a key enabler to higher FE and lower CO2 emissions. By combining the technological strengths and know-how of the two companies in the area of manufacturing, sales, and R&D, the two companies should see a maximum return on their investment while promoting a higher percentage of hybrid electric vehicle ownership well into the future.

The new company will manufacture batteries based on GS Yuasa’s Li-Ion based EH6. Honda stated, “The performance most suitable for next-generation hybrid vehicles will be achieved through a review of certain elements such as the structure and electrode materials.”

[chibougamoo]

The Li-Ion batteries may not look as sexy as new-car sheet-metal, they may even not attract a whole lot of public interest, but this marriage of two giants (Honda and Yuasa) could well be the most important newsworthy item reported over the last couple of days. Moving the energy-density equation forward for EV's is crucial to longer range.

Sometimes it's the little creeping moves that change the whole chess-board-like auto industry dynamics, even if we only really "see" how farsighted this is, a year or two later.

[WriConsult]

Wow, big change in direction for Honda. Just a few months ago they were pooh-poohing Li-ion. This is a Manganese chemistry, right?

[cuchulain]

The announcement was for a 6Ah battery so it seems more aimed at replacing the hybrid NiMH from Panasonic (escaping the Big-T) than for BEV applications. I have not checked yet but the chemistry appears to NiMnCo with about 50Wh/kg energy density.

Good Luck
Andrew

[xcel]

Tokyo, Japan -- GS Yuasa Corporation and Honda signed a joint venture contract to establish a new joint venture company for manufacturing, sales and R&D of Lithium-ion batteries for hybrid vehicles. Since the signing of a basic agreement in December of last year, two companies have engaged in a series of discussions to determine concrete plans for the establishment of a joint venture company which will manufacture, sell and conduct R&D for high-performance lithium-ion batteries for applications with a central focus on hybrid vehicles. The new company, Blue Energy Co., Ltd., is scheduled to be established April 1, 2009.

Outline of the new joint venture company

1. Company name Blue Energy Co., Ltd.
2. Establishment date (plan) April 1, 2009
3. Headquarters 1, Inobanba-cho, Nishinosho, Kisshoin, Minami-ku, Kyoto
4. Capital 3 billion yen. Potential increase in capital and capital surplus up to 15 billion yen may be executed.
5. Capital Ratio 51% GS Yuasa Power Supply Ltd. (a wholly-owned subsidiary of GS Yuasa Corporation) 49% Honda Motor Co., Ltd.
6. Description of business Manufacturing, sales and R&D of high-performance lithium-ion batteries
7. President and CEO Masahiko O****ani (Executive Officer of GS Yuasa Corporation)

[msirach]

I figured Honda had a stake in Yuasa anyway. They have supplied power in Honda motorcycles since at least the late 60's. Hopefully, as more Li-ion manufacturing takes place, the price will make a dramatic drop. I have been pricing components for an EV motorcycle conversion and a quote I received yesterday for72v lifepo4 cells was about $4800. Gel cells were $800 and flooded $500.