日本经济产业大臣斋藤健称，当局政府将支持12个储能电池项目或其零部件、材料或生产设备的项目，最高可达3500亿日元。他还指出，“我们希望这些努力将强化日本储能电池供应链和该行业的竞争力。“Toyota, Nissan and other Japanese companies will invest 1 trillion yen (approximately $7 billion) in the energy storage battery industry with the support of the Japanese government. According to the plan, this massive investment will increase the relevant production capacity from 80 gigawatt-hours to 120 gigawatt-hours, a 50% increase. The Japanese Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry will provide assistance of up to 350 billion yen (approximately $2.4 billion).
According to reports, Toyota Motor, Nissan Motor, and other companies will invest 1 trillion yen (approximately $7 billion) in Japan's energy storage battery industry with the support of the government, expanding the overall production capacity of energy storage batteries by about 50%.
The investment of 1 trillion yen will mainly be used for automotive batteries, with plans to increase the relevant production capacity from 80 gigawatt-hours to 120 gigawatt-hours, a 50% increase. It is reported that the Japanese Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry is expected to announce assistance of 350 billion yen (approximately $2.4 billion) for this work, with the goal of reaching 150 gigawatt-hours by 2030.
Kenji Saito, the Japanese Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry, stated that the government will support 12 energy storage battery projects, including their components, materials, or production equipment, with a maximum support of 350 billion yen. He also pointed out, 'We hope that these efforts will strengthen Japan's energy storage battery supply chain and the competitiveness of this industry.'
According to Kenji Saito, the government-supported projects include investments by Toyota and Nissan, as well as a joint project between the energy division of Panasonic Corporation and the automobile manufacturers Subaru and Mazda.
Japan's move is aimed at ensuring that critical components essential for economic security can be stably supplied domestically.
As part of this massive plan, Toyota Motor will increase the battery production of its subsidiaries, Prime Planet Energy & Solutions and Primearth EV Energy, with an estimated total investment of around 250 billion yen. The plan includes the establishment of a new electric vehicle battery factory, which is expected to start operation at the end of 2028 and become a major supplier to Toyota's Lexus assembly plant; improve the domestic supply chain with a focus on the goal of selling 3.5 million electric vehicles globally by 2030; and also strive to develop solid-state technology for the next generation of batteries.
Nissan Motor plans to invest about 150 billion yen to produce automotive lithium iron phosphate batteries, aiming to install such batteries in microcars starting from the 2028 fiscal year, with a goal of achieving a domestic production capacity of 5 gigawatt-hours per year. These lithium iron phosphate batteries are seen as a very promising next-generation option because they do not use rare metals such as cobalt.
Panasonic Holdings will produce core lithium-ion battery components for Subaru and Mazda autos, and will cooperate with these two auto manufacturers to produce them in Japan, with a total investment of approximately 550 billion yen.
