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Nissan and NEC are to mass-produce lithium-ion batteries, to be ready for wide-scale automotive application by 2009.
The new joint-venture company – Automotive Energy Supply Corporation (AESC) – will focus on the development, production, and marketing of advanced lithium-ion batteries, designed to power future generations of electric-powered vehicles.
Nissan say their new joint venture will become the leading company in mass production of lithium-ion batteries for the global automotive community using pioneering technologies developed by Nissan and NEC group.
“NEC and NEC TOKIN bring expertise in cell technology and battery manufacturing; while Nissan will focus on the cell stack for real-world application in electric-powered vehicles. AESC’s core product will be advanced lithium-ion batteries for automotive application and the company will be fully responsible for marketing its products to other potential customers in the auto industry.”
AESC plans to mass-produce lithium-ion batteries that will be a highly competitive energy-generation solution for automotive application. The new batteries are said to offer “cutting-edge and environmentally-friendly technology, cost competitiveness, superior performance, safety and versatility”.
Nissan says its partnership with NEC represents a key component of its ‘Nissan Green Program 2010’ mid-term environmental action plan, announced in December 2006.
The evolution towards cleaner powertrains is predicted to result in a wider mix of electric-powered vehicles including hybrids, plug-in hybrids, hydrogen fuel cell vehicles and electric vehicles.
“Nissan will introduce its own original hybrid vehicle by 2010, followed by its next generation electric vehicle in the early part of the next decade”, says Carlos Tavares, Executive Vice President of Nissan.
