Nissan to spend $1 billion on U.S. battery plant, 4 more plants in Europe
Nissan EV-02 prototype - click above for high res image gallery
Nissan was one of the three recipients in the first round of low interest loans through the U.S. Department of Energy's ATVM program along with Ford and Tesla. Nissan will be getting $1.6 billion from the program that will be used to re-tool part of its Smyrna, Tennessee factory to build electric cars and lithium ion batteries. Out of that amount, apparently over $1 billion will be needed just for the battery production capacity. The battery plant will consist of three production modules each of which is capable of producing 54,000 batteries.
The U.S. battery plant joins a Japanese facility that is starting up in 2010. In addition to these facilities, Nissan and French partner Renault will be building electric cars in Europe beginning in 2011. Because battery packs are heavy, it makes sense to build the packs close to where they will be installed in vehicles. As Renault-Nissan expand production, the alliance is also considering adding as many as four battery plants on the continent. No specific commitments have yet been made for locations yet.
Gallery: Quick Drive: Nissan EV-02 prototype
Photos Copyright ©2009 Sam Abuelsamid / Weblogs, Inc.
[Source: Reuters, Automotive News - sub. req'd]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
locoyocal 4:40PM (7/09/2009)
Its interesting that a "auto" manufacturer has to build its own batteries.
Reply
GoodCheer 5:35PM (7/09/2009)
It is interesting that after decades of trending away from vertically integrated manufacturers, Nissan now seems to be going the other direction and wants to own a greater part of the component supply. (GM & Toyota, for instance, are both happy to buy batteries).
Does anybody know if this is also reflected in other aspects of Nissan supply chain management?
paulwesterberg 6:05PM (7/09/2009)
Maybe nissan is preparing for a future where most cars are powered by batteries.
They are planning to streamline their supply chain and they see that quality batteries in large quantities are likely to be the most limited piece necessary to produce electric cars.
They must figure that they can get high quality electric motors in quantity from outside suppliers, but the supply of batteries may be limited and prices may fluctuate. If they own the battery factories, they only need to worry about the supply of base materials like lithium ore which is likely to remain stable or decline as mining operations come online in Bolivia.
Dave 1:31AM (7/10/2009)
@GoodCheer - Toyota owns 60% of Panasonic.
Given that batteries will make up a very significant portion of the cost of EVs for at least 10-15 years, it only makes sense that manufacturers would not want to leave a significant portion of the car in other people's hands with a very limited number of suppliers and a significant number of them with a vested interest in their competitors.
For example, Ford has claimed for years that their hybrid production has been limited by batteries, and they get their batteries from Sanyo. But Sanyo has a joint venture producing NiMH batteries with Honda. No wonder Ford has a hard time getting all the batteries they want. It could be part of the reason Ford doesn't have any direct competitor to the Civic Hybrid or Insight, even though if they had adapted their system to the Focus it would very likely outperform the Civic Hybrid.
Dave 1:52AM (7/10/2009)
Just did a bit more searching after my last post and found that Panasonic is trying to buy Sanyo. That has got to worry anyone (besides Toyota) using Sanyo or Panasonic as a supplier of batteries for automobiles!
lne937s 11:09AM (7/10/2009)
Dave-
Toyota owns 60% of a Panasonic EV Energy- a joint venture to produce NiMH batteries for the Prius and other hybrids.
http://www.peve.jp/e/index.html
Toyota does not own the majority of Panasonic Corporation. The Sanyo move could be seen as a means for Panasonic Corp. to produce Li Ion batteries outside of the joint venture with Toyota.
http://www.panasonic.net/