panasonic

Panasonic sells stake in long-term partner Tesla for $3.6 billion

Tesla’s lithium-ion battery maker Panasonic has sold its entire stake in the US electric vehicle OEM for almost $3.6 billion, reports Japanese business news outlet Nikkei.

Panasonic has said the sale will pay for its $7 billion acquisition of artificial intelligence software developer Blue Yonder, reported Nikkei.

Panasonic bought 1.4 million Tesla shares for about $30 million in 2010. Those stocks rose to $730 million at the end of March 2020, and by 24 June closed at $679.82 apiece.

Japanese firm Panasonic has been a long-term supplier of batteries to Tesla.

Last year, the pair signed a three-year pricing deal relating to the manufacture and supply of 2170 lithium-ion battery cells manufactured at its gigafactory in Nevada, US.

Panasonic said it would increase the energy density of its 2170 cells by 20% within five years and commercialise a cobalt-free version within three years.

The stock sell-off came in the same week China battery maker CATL extended a battery supply deal with Tesla to 2025.

Tesla entered into a partnership with South Korea’s LG Chem and China’s CATL in January 2020 as it looked to secure a lithium-ion battery supply for its electric cars at its Gigafactory 3 plant in Shanghai.

CATL signed a two-year battery supply agreement with Tesla, with the US firm determining the battery purchase volume, last July.

For more stories on Teslsa click here

Tesla

Lithium-ion

battery

panasonic

us

electric vehicle

japan

Toyota and Panasonic JV to make lithium-ion vehicle batteries and develop next-gen technology including solid-state

A joint venture between vehicle OEM and Toyota Motor Corporation and lithium-ion battery maker Panasonic will specialise in prismatic batteries for automotive applications0.

The new company, called Prime Planet Energy & Solutions (PPES), is due to begin operation on 1 April this year from its headquarters in Tokyo, Japan.

Vehicle OEM

Toyota Motor Corporation

Toyota takes more Asian battery firms along for EV ride

Toyota is teaming up with several Asian battery manufacturers to ensure it has the supplies it needs to ramp up production of electric vehicles, the Japanese car company has confirmed.

Chinese battery and auto makers CATL and BYD are now lined up to work with Toyota—in addition to Japan’s GS Yuasa and Toshiba, Toyota bosses have confirmed.

Battery makers sign up for BESS safety taskforce

Manufacturers and users of battery storage systems have backed an industry-led initiative in the US to “prioritise safety” in the production and operation of equipment.

The move came amidst on going concerns about the risk of fires from lithium batteries and cells— and just days before an explosion at a grid-scale battery storage facility in the US.

Energy Storage Association

Highview Power Storage

Enel Green Power

Duke Energy

Musk hits out at Panasonic over Tesla battery supply

Tesla CEO Elon Musk has blamed “lower-than-expected” battery manufacture from Panasonic for disrupting production of Tesla’s Model 3 electric vehicles (EVs).

Musk said in a post on Twitter that Panasonic’s battery cell lines at the ‘Gigafactory 1’ facility in Nevada amounted to about 24GWh per year— lower than the expected 35GWh— and had “been a constraint on Model 3 output since July (2018)”.

Musk added “Tesla won’t spend money on more capacity until existing lines get closer to 35GWh theoretical”.

Panasonic joins solar plus battery microgrids pilot for India

Indian power distributor BSES Yamuna is to partner Panasonic in rolling out pilot solar power microgrids with battery storage at four separate locations in East Delhi.

Each microgrid will comprise 5-7kW of rooftop solar generation and 7-10kWh of lithium-ion battery storage.

The pilot plants set up at BSES offices in East Delhi reported that, following installation, locations sourced 92% of their power from the microgrid, and only 8% from the grid itself.

Toyota and Panasonic agree batteries joint venture

Japanese compatriots Panasonic and Toshiba have concluded contracts toward setting up a joint venture (JV) company related to the automotive prismatic battery business.

The JV— which is subject to approval by anti-trust chiefs— will cover “research, development, production, engineering, manufacturing, procurement, order receipt, and management”.

Toyota will contribute equipment and personnel in the areas of development and production engineering related to battery cells, while Panasonic will contribute equipment and personnel to support activities including production, development, engineering and manufacturing (at its plants in Japan and Dalian, China).

Mergers & Acquisitions

joint venture

battery manufacturing

Panasonic chief hints at battery tie-up with Tesla in China

The head of Japan’s Panasonic Corp has floated the idea of jointly producing electric vehicle batteries in China with Tesla.

Panasonic CEO Kazuhiro Tsuga (pictured) said during an earnings briefing on 10 May that the move could be on the cards, Reuters reported.

Panasonic ships first Li-on batteries from China

Japan’s Panasonic has shipped its first prismatic automotive lithium-ion batteries from a new factory in Dalian, China.

Panasonic said the move followed the start of “mass production” at the site— which was formally opened last year— with consignments of batteries being shipped to Chinese and North American customers.

panasonic

prismatic batteries

Dalian Lever Electric

japan

china

Montenegro opts for Li-battery storage for telecoms

A telecoms operator in Montenegro has signed a 10-year lithium-ion battery storage supply contract for its cell towers situated across the country.

Crnogorski Telekom (CT), part of Deutsche Telekom, currently uses a combination of diesel generators and lead-acid batteries for backup power.

telecom

Montenegro

lithium-ion batteries