To fortify its battery supply chain, Japan plans to increase its subsidies for the development of electric vehicle batteries. The country has committed up to $2.4 billion in support for related initiatives involving Toyota Motor and other big corporations.
According to Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry Ken Saito, the government will provide up to 350 billion yen ($2.44 billion) in support for 12 projects involving storage batteries or related parts, materials, or production equipment.
“We hope that these efforts will strengthen Japan’s storage battery supply chain and the storage battery industry’s competitiveness,” Saito added.
According to earlier Friday media reports from Japan, the move will assist increase the nation’s yearly production capacity for storage batteries by almost 50%, to 120 gigawatt-hours (GWh), from the present 80 GWh.
According to earlier Friday media reports from Japan, the move will assist increase the nation’s yearly production capacity for storage batteries by almost 50%, to 120 gigawatt-hours (GWh), from the present 80 GWh.
The government promised about $1 billion in subsidies for the production of storage batteries in June of last year, with the first batch of subsidies to be awarded in April of 2023. This support follows their announcement.
According to the industry ministry, Toyota would invest a total of roughly 245 billion yen with its battery subsidiaries Prime Planet Energy & Solutions and Primearth EV Energy to increase solid-state and prismatic battery production capacity by 9 GWh.
Toyota plans to begin battery deliveries in November 2026. The Yomiuri newspaper reports that the proposal calls for the construction of battery plants in the prefectures of Hyogo and Fukuoka.
Toyota acknowledged in a statement that the ministry had approved the plans for the development and manufacturing of its solid-state and next-generation batteries, but it did not provide details on the new plants or the amount of money it would be investing.
Nissan said in a statement that it had obtained government certification for its proposal to manufacture lithium-iron-phosphate batteries.
The carmaker planned to include these batteries into small cars starting in the 2028 fiscal year. It stated that it would receive up to 55.5 billion yen in help toward its goal of producing 5 GWh annually domestically.
