NEC Tokin to boost electrode production 50-fold

NEC Tokin Corp. is to raise the production of lithium-ion battery electrodes 50-fold by the end of 2010, reports the Nikkei, in preparation for the launch of Nissan’s new electric vehicle (EV) next year. The company will invest 13.7 billion yen (US$145.4 million) to install five production lines to make cathodes and anodes at its Sagamihara plant in Kanagawa Prefecture. The first line will be completed by September 2009 and will begin operations by April 2010; all production lines are scheduled to be operating by the end of next year. Each of the new lines is said to have a production capacity 10 times greater than the existing production line at its plant in Toyama Prefecture. The entire output from this investment will go to Automotive Energy Supply Corp., a joint venture between NEC Corp. and Nissan, to supply lithium-ion cells for the automaker’s alternative fuel vehicles. (August 26, 2009)