Toshiba Says It Expects to Sell EV-Intended Lithium Batteries to Multiple Carmakers
By Scott Doggett November 16, 2009
Toshiba expects to sign up about five car companies as customers for its new lithium-ion battery for electric vehicles, the head of the business told the London-based Financial Times said in an interview published Sunday.
Shoshi Kawatsu, general manager of the Super Charge Battery (or SCiB) division, also said that Toshiba was preparing for the possible manufacturing of batteries in the U.S. and Europe and would make a decision on whether to go ahead in 2011, depending on market growth and the needs of its customers.
Toshiba joined the race to mass produce lithium-ion batteries for zero-emissions electric vehicles and plug-in hybrids last year, announcing then that the Japanese electronics giant aimed to make 3 million lithium-ion battery cells a month starting in 2010.
Battery packs for hybrid cars can contain hundreds of cells. In the fall of last year, the company was making 150,000 cells a month, mostly for electric bicycles; a current production figure was not immediately available.
Kawatsu's comments highlight Toshiba's confidence in its battery technology and the growing number of new entrants fighting for a share of the potentially huge market in lithium-ion batteries for electric vehicles.
"No confidence, no investment," Kawatsu told the Financial Times. Toshiba is spending $279 million to build a second SCiB factory as it pushes into the market with the goal of reaching $2.2 billion in sales by 2015.
Batteries are the main constraint on the distance an electric vehicle can travel and the biggest part of its cost, prompting a rash of tie-ups between car groups and battery makers.
Toshiba has no existing presence in lithium-ion batteries for EVs but claims its lithium-titanate chemistry has a number of advantages, including a lifespan of more than 10 years; much lower risk of fire in a crash; reliable output even when low on charge; and the ability to recharge to 90 percent of capacity in only five minutes.
So far Toshiba has only announced a partnership with Volkswagen, but Kawatsu said it was in talks with various carmakers in Japan and abroad.
Unlike rivals such as NEC, which has tied up with Nissan, Kawatsu said that Toshiba intended to supply a range of car companies itself.
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