Car manufacturer Toyota is entering into a collaboration with Panasonic to produce batteries for electric cars. For this, the companies are establishing a joint venture called Prime Planet Energy & Solutions, which specialises in prismatic batteries.
The collaboration does not come as a complete surprise. Toyota and Panasonic already announced in January 2019 that they were working on such a joint venture. With Prime Planet Energy & Solutions, the companies are responding to the growing importance of batteries in the future society. "Batteries - as a solution that provides energy for cars and various other forms of mobility, and as a solution to various environmental problems - are expected to play a central role in the society of the future. A role that supports people's lives," Toyota and Panasonic report in a press release.
Prismatic lithium-ion batteries and solid-state batteries
Prime Planet Energy & Solutions focuses on the development of competitive and cost-effective batteries. The batteries must be safe to use and combine good quality with high performance. These may be prismatic lithium-ion batteries or solid-state batteries, but also batteries based on new technologies. Prime Planet Energy & Solutions will supply its batteries not only to Toyota, but also to other customers.
The new joint venture will officially start operations on 1 April 2020 and will have two Japanese headquarters, one in Tokyo and one in the Kansai region. The company will be headed by director and president Hiroaki Koda, Managing Officer at Toyota Motor Corporation. Both Toyota and Panasonic representatives will sit on the board of directors. The company has about 5,100 employees, including 2,400 at a Chinese subsidiary. The joint venture is 51% owned by Toyota, while Panasonic owns the remaining 49%.
More manufacturers produce batteries themselves
Toyota is not the first company to develop its own batteries. Earlier, for instance, Daimler announced it would enter battery production. To this end, the car manufacturer set up a production company together with Evonik, which is 90% owned by Daimler. PSA unit Opel also announced earlier this year that it was entering into a partnership with Total subsidiary Saft to produce battery packs for electric vehicles. The parties are joining forces in the joint venture Automotive Cell Company.
Nissan produced its own batteries for the Nissan Leaf in the past. The company set up the joint venture Automotive Energy Supply Corporation with NEC and Tokin Corporation for this purpose. This joint venture was sold to China's Envision Group in August 2018.
CNBC additionally reported in June 2019, based on five (former) Tesla employees, that the US carmaker also wants to start producing its own battery cells. The company is reportedly conducting research on this in a laboratory in the US state of California. Currently, Tesla still uses batteries produced by third parties.
Author: Wouter Hoeffnagel
