SEAT, Ficosa and Sanyo join forces to develop batteries for electric vehicles in Spain and Portugal

Volkswagen Group member SEAT, Ficosa and Sanyo have signed an agreement to promote the development of batteries for electric vehicles in Spain and Portugal. The strategic agreement includes that the three companies will study and prove the technical feasibility and technology of manufacture of batteries for SEAT and Volkswagen plants in the Iberian Peninsula.

Sanyo will develop the cells and the battery pack and make the cells and Ficosa will address the assembly process of the batteries in Viladecavalls facilities (Barcelona) to provide for the SEAT and Volkswagen factories in Spain and Portugal.

To SEAT president James Muir, this partnership represents “a major breakthrough in the bid for the development of SEAT alternative vehicles. The Volkswagen Group is promoting hybrid and electric vehicles at high speed and SEAT, as a member of the consortium is involved in this strategy.”

In October 2010 at the Paris Motor Show, SEAT introduced the prototype IBE 2.0; SEAT has also developed the concept car IBx, a plug-in hybrid SUV that appeared at the Geneva Motor Show in March.

Ficosa is a leader in the development and production of vehicle components and systems worldwide. Its main strategic areas of innovation are the development of systems for electric vehicles and / or hybrid communication systems and intelligent systems help the driver. Ficosa is a pioneer in the automotive sector in Spain in the development of packaging systems, electronic control and management of electric vehicle batteries and / or hybrids.

The company, in line with its strategic focus on sustainability, actively participates in several cooperative research projects related to electromobility in Europe (POLLUX, led by Spain and Europe by Artemis platform), Spain (Cenit VERDE, led SEAT and promoted by the Ministry of Science and Innovation) and Catalonia (BATTMAN, promoted by the Generalitat of Catalonia and the EC).

Sanyo supplies NiMH batteries for hybrid electric vehicles developed by Volkswagen and also carries out the implementation of the next generation of NiMH and Li-ion batteries with car manufacturers—for example, Volkswagen Group.

Source: Green Car Congress

VW to award contract for EV batteries to Bosch, source says

German automotive supplier Bosch is set to receive a major contract to develop electric car batteries for Volkswagen AG, a person familiar with the matter told Reuters today.

Awarding Stuttgart-based Bosch the contract would give VW a second battery supplier next to Japan's Sanyo. Both VW and Bosch declined to comment on the matter.

Global automakers are accelerating plans to electrify their cars through gasoline-electric hybrids, plug-in hybrids and pure electric vehicles to stay competitive as governments around the world tighten emissions and fuel economy standards.

Volkswagen has said it plans to launch all-electric vehicles in 2013 and expects these zero-emission vehicles to account for 3 percent of its sales by 2018.

But two major challenges that carmakers face to mass producing electric vehicle are the high cost of the batteries and the limited range of all-electric vehicles.

Source: Automotive News

Panasonic to boost Li-ion battery output in China; looking for reductions in manufacturing expenses

The Nikkei reports that Panasonic Corp. will ramping up lithium-ion battery output in lower-cost China to reduce manufacturing expenses as much as 30%.

Panasonic hopes to retain the top position in the global market through cost cuts. Japanese companies once enjoyed an edge in development and mass production of these batteries, which are used to power mobile phones, laptop computers and other products. But with South Korean rivals now quickly catching up, Panasonic has decided to rely more on Chinese production as a way to stay on top.

Panasonic and Sanyo Electric Co., which became a 100% unit on April 1, had a combined 26% share of the worldwide lithium ion battery market in 2010. Panasonic plans to invest 20–30 billion yen [US$244–366 million] through 2012 to lift Chinese output by constructing a new plant and upgrading existing facilities there.

Panasonic currently has an output capacity of 120 million units per month, of which 80-90% are produced in Japan and the rest in China. Panasonic hopes to lift Chinas share to around 50% by 2015, according to the report. It aims to roughly triple sales of lithium ion batteries, including those for automobiles, from the fiscal 2009 level to 1 trillion yen (US$12.2 billion).

Source: Nikkei

Sanyo Electric Company to Increase Output For Automotive Lithium Ion Batteries

The Nikkei reports that Sanyo Electric Co. plans to raise its output capacity for automotive lithium ion batteries by 150% to the equivalent of some 1 million hybrid vehicles annually through a roughly ¥15 billion (US$180.7 million) investment in a key plant.

Sanyo will boost production of lithium ion batteries for automobiles at its Kasai plant. The firm will double production lines at the Kasai plant in Hyogyo Prefecture, completed this year, to four as early as fiscal 2011. The new lines will mass-produce large batteries with capacities of 20 ampere-hours or higher for use in plug-in hybrids and electric vehicles.

Sanyo already produces lithium ion batteries for hybrid vehicles made by the Volkswagen AG group. It will also supply them to a hybrid that Toyota Motor Corp. is working toward launching early next year and plans to do the same for Ford Motor Co. hybrids.

Sanyo Completes New Factory for Automotive Li-ion Batteries

Sanyo Electric Co., Ltd. has completed its new factory for automotive lithium-ion batteries in its Kasai Plant (Kasai city, Hyogo prefecture, Japan.) The factory will start with a production capacity of 1 million cells per month, with the aim to expand the production scale depending on demand.

Sanyo has already been supplying nickel-metal hydride (NiMH) batteries for hybrid electric vehicles (HEV) to Ford, Honda and Volkswagen, and co-developing NiMH batteries with PSA Peugeot Citroën.

In addition, Sanyo is co-developing lithium-ion batteries for hybrids (HEVs) with the Volkswagen group. Sanyo lithium-ion batteries for Plug-in HEVs (PHEVs) will also be applied in Suzuki vehicles.

The completion of the new factory will make it possible for Sanyo to further meet demands of the lithium-ion batteries from various auto makers.

Earlier in the week, Panasonic, which already has a 50.05% stake in Sanyo as of last year made a tender offer to purchase the remaining shares of Sanyo Electric Co and Panasonic Electric Works (PEW). Sanyo would thus become a wholly-owned subsidiary of Panasonic, rather than a consolidated subsidiary as it is currently. Panasonic will offer ¥138 per share (US $1.60) per share of Sanyo to complete the acquisition.

In June, an EV racing car powered by Sanyo Lithium-ion battery systems hit an all-time record for electric vehicles (EV) at the 2010 Pikes Peak International Hill Climb in Colorado.

The EV racing car owned by Team Yokohama EV Challenge, a team of The Yokohama Rubber Company, participated in car/truck class of the exhibition division, and finished with 13 minutes 17 seconds as the best time, breaking a previous record of 14 minutes 33 seconds.

The 37 kWh (385V, 96 Ah) pack in the car comprised 6,656 cylindrical 18650-format cells.

Source: Green Car Congress

Sanyo Supplying Li-ion Batteries for Suzuki Swift Plug-in Hybrid

Sanyo Electric recently announced an agreement with Suzuki Motor to supply lithium-ion battery systems for the Swift Plug-in Hybrid. Suzuki has already announced its intention to start manufacturing the vehicles.

The plug-in is powered by a 55 kW, 180 N·m AC synchronous motor and a 2.66 kWh Li-ion battery pack. The 0.66L engine is the K6A, earlier versions of which were used in the Cappuccino.

The Swift Plug-in Hybrid will serve as a model supported by Japan’s Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism. The new model will serve as a demonstration experiment and the experiment will be implemented at Suzuki dealers from this autumn.

Sanyo has been supplying nickel-metal hydride batteries for hybrid electric vehicles (HEVs) to Honda and Ford since 2004. Sanyo has also been carrying out joint development with the Volkswagen Group for next-generation nickel-metal hydride and lithium-ion battery systems, as well as with PSA Peugeot Citroen for a nickel-metal hydride battery system. Sanyo sees this new partnership as a way to further enhance its relationship with Suzuki and further appeal its strengths in next-generation battery technology for automobiles.

Sanyo plans to accelerate the development and commercialization of high-performance batteries, and is working on global business expansion of rechargeable automotive batteries.

Source: Green Car Congress

Sanyo Electric plans to launch mass production of lithium ion batteries for plug-in hybrids and electric vehicles

The Nikkei reports that Sanyo Electric plans to launch mass production of lithium ion batteries for plug-in hybrids and electric vehicles by fiscal 2012 as part of a ¥200-billion investment (US$2.126 billion) over the next three years in rechargeable batteries and solar cells.

By beefing up production facilities, including a plant in Hyogo Prefecture, the company aims to capture 40% of the global market for green-car rechargeable batteries by fiscal 2020. It also plans to develop high-capacity lithium ion batteries for cellular phones and personal computers.

...The company aims to expand solution businesses that provide clean energy systems, consisting of rechargeable batteries, solar cells and other green technologies, with an eye toward launching them in the US and other foreign countries. It hopes to grow the solution businesses to be worth around 100 billion yen by fiscal 2015.

Source: NIKKEI

Nikkei Reporting that Sanyo Will Supply NiMH Batteries For Peugeot Diesel-Electric Hybrids

Here is a report from the Nikkei reporting on a deal between Sanyo and Peugot for NiMH batteries to be used in diesel-electric hybrid vehicles.

PSA Peugeot Citroen, a French player that aims to be the world’s first to bring a diesel-electric hybrid to market, is the fifth automaker that Sanyo is expected to supply batteries to.

Sanyo will ship batteries for several tens of thousands of cars per year. They will be used in the Peugeot 3008 sports utility vehicle and the Citroen DS5 luxury car, models the group plans to roll out in 2011. Both will use a diesel engine to power their front wheels and a motor to power their rear ones.

Sanyo supplies NiMH batteries to Honda and Ford and is expected to supply lithium ion batteries to the Volkswagen Group and Toyota Motor Corp.

One has to wonder why large format NiMH batteries cannot be manufactured for electric only vehicles. NiMH batteries such as those found in the Toyota RAV4 EV, which is still in use today.

Sanyo Will More Than Triple Its NiMH Battery Output To Meet Hybrid Vehicle Demand

In order to meet the ever growing demand for alternate energy, hybrid vehicles, Sanyo will increase NiMH battery production by 350%. Obviously, momentum has grown steadily and demand for the gas sipping vehicles is on the rise. This is a great sign that the people of the world are realizing the importance of reducing their reliance on oil.

In fiscal 2008, Sanyo made such batteries for hybrid cars at a rate of 1 million units a month. And when it announced its business results in mid-May, the company said it would boost production by 150% and make 2.5 million units a month in fiscal 2009. But now, Sanyo has decided to boost production by 250% to a monthly rate of 3.5 million batteries in fiscal 2009.

It said it will invest several billion yen to expand production lines at its Sumoto plant, in Hyogo Prefecture, which is the only plant where it makes NiMH batteries for hybrid cars.

Sanyo supplies NiMH batteries to Honda and Ford, and is looking for more customers and expanded business.