Japanese lithium-ion battery manufacturer Eliiy Power has signed a deal to supply a US microinverter company with six years worth of large-size lithium-ion electricity storage battery cells.
Following the deal with Enphase, Eliiy will boost production of its cells by 40%, increasing from one million units a year to up to 1.5 million.
The project, at its main Kawasaki plant just south of Tokyo, will cost up to $24.8 million. Total production when added to its existing plant will amount to up to 1.7 million cells a year.
Eliiy uses olivine-type lithium iron phosphate in its cell cathodes, which it says is a safe material. The company claims its cells still retain more than 80% of their storage capacity up to 12,000 cycles.
Eliiy is also considering building a new plant by 2018 in the Osaka region of Kansai.
Eliiy’s batteries will be sold to Enphase’s existing customers, or as a set with microinverters to new customers.
