Toshiba to Set Up New Lithium-ion Battery Plant

October 17, 2018

Tokyo- Toshiba Corp. will set up a new plant in its business complex in the city of Yokohama, Kanagawa Prefecture, south of Tokyo, in an effort to boost production of lithium-ion secondary batteries.

According to a statement released on Tuesday, the company will invest 16.2 billion yen on the new plant. Construction will begin in July 2019, with the start of its operations planned for October 2020.

Toshiba hopes to meet growing demand for such batteries used mainly in electric vehicles, officials said.

Except for the factories of the semiconductor-manufacturing subsidiary, which was sold in June, it will be Toshiba's first new plant in about 10 years, after a lithium-ion secondary battery factory was completed in the city of Kashiwazaki, Niigata Prefecture, central Japan, in 2010.

The three-story plant will have a total floor space of 27,000 square meters.

With Toshiba seeing the lithium-ion battery business as a main pillar in its business reconstruction plan, the plant will also serve as a research and development center for the business. Jiji Press