Toyota Industries establishes on-board battery production line at its new Ishihama Plant, increasing production of bipolar nickel-metal hydride batteries for hybrid vehicles
[Translation]
Toyota Industries Corporation (President: Akira Onishi) has established its new Ishihama Plant. The plant will start production of bipolar nickel-metal hydride batteries for hybrid vehicles in October 2022. The new plant is expected to operate at a production capacity of 20,000 units per month, and, together with the Kyowa Plant (Obu-shi, Aichi) that started battery production in May 2021, this will boost total capacity to 40,000 units per month.
Toyota Industries developed its bipolar nickel-metal hydride battery jointly with Toyota Motor Corporation, and was used first in the world as the electric drive battery for electrified vehicles in the Toyota Aqua, launched in July 2021.
In this innovative battery, a cathode is applied to one side of a metal component called a current collector and an anode to the other. Several of these structures, which are known as "bipolar electrodes," are stacked together to form a battery. By having cathode and anode together in the current collector, batteries can be made smaller as they require fewer parts. In addition, the wider electrical path and simple structure reduce resistance within the battery, allowing large currents to flow quickly. This means that they can produce higher outputs compared to conventional nickel-metal hydride batteries.
The bipolar nickel-metal hydride battery, which achieves both superior driving performance and environmental performance, is scheduled to be used in the Lexus RX unveiled in June 2022 and the Toyota Crown unveiled in July. The Ishihama and Kyowa plants are prepared to handle future increases in demand.
To contribute to the expansion and spread of electrified vehicles and work toward carbon neutrality, Toyota Industries is both working on stable supply as well as to enhance its lineup of batteries so that they can be used in a range of electrified vehicles.
[Outline of the Ishihama Plant]
1． Start of Scheduled for operations : October 2022
2． Parts produced : On-board batteries
3． No. of employees : 340 (planned for October 2022)
4． Building area : 20,000㎡
The bipolar nickel-metal hydride battery