Bring on the carmakers. Toshiba is looking to sign approximately five carmakers to deals for the companies newly released lithium batteries intended to provide motivation to EVs.
According to a report in the Financial Times of London, the head of Toshiba said that the company will enter the EV market with its newly developed lithium titanate technology. Additionally, Toshiba is considering construction of a manufacturing facility for the lithium batteries in the U.S. and Europe. Toshiba will decide about future manufacturing facilities in 2011 as determined by market share and expected growth.
Last year, Toshiba announced that it would join countless other battery manufacturers in the race to supply millions of potential EVs with the necessary lithium battery components. The company had stated that their aim was to produce 3 million cells per month by 2010.
Currently, Toshiba is spending $279 million to build an additional lithium titanate production facility with goals of increasing production and reaching $2.2 billion in sales by 2015. The companies lithium-titanate is said to have numerous advantages of traditional li-ion technology including an extended lifespan, lower risk of fire in crash situations, reliable power output, and lightning fast ability to charge (to 90% capacity in 5 minutes) via fast charge station.
The company has signed a deal with Volkswagen, but is still seeking additional partners and is currently in talks with automakers inside Japan and across the rest of the globe.
Source: Edmunds.com
