Honda and GS Yuasa form JV for battery development
Honda and GS Yuasa have agreed to establish a joint venture for battery development. The new company, called Honda GS Yuasa EV Battery R&D, will launch at the end of 2023. Both companies will hold a 50/50 stake in the company and are already planning a battery factory in Japan.
The joint venture will be based in Kyoto, Japan, and will initially be endowed with 2 billion yen in capital and capital reserves each, the equivalent of about €13.6 million. It results from an agreement signed by Honda and GS Yuasa in January 2023 to develop high-performance batteries for electric cars together. Two weeks ago, the two sides announced they would build a joint battery factory in Japan based on the January agreement. The factory is scheduled to go into operation in 2027.
Now things are also moving forward with joint battery development, though the joint venture still needs the green light from the responsible authorities. When the joint venture goes into operation at the end of the year, it will look at battery development and production methods and establish a supply chain for important raw materials.
Honda and GS Yuasa previously collaborated on lithium-ion batteries for hybrid electric vehicles (HEVs). The partners do not disclose what cell chemistry they envisage for joint development. GS Yuasa is a Japanese manufacturer of a range of different battery types. In addition to electric and hybrid batteries, the company also manufactures, among others, automotive starter batteries, motorbike starter batteries and industrial batteries for standby and cyclic applications.
“We are very pleased that Honda and GS Yuasa have reached a joint venture agreement, which will become a new milestone in our pursuit of the realisation of carbon neutrality, which is a goal shared by the two companies”, says Koichi Yamamoto, the joint venture’s Representative Director and President (to be). “The new company will fully leverage the strengths of the two companies and establish a strong presence in the rapidly expanding battery market.”
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