Sharp to Tie Up with Daiwa House on Batteries for Houses
Tokyo, Feb 26, 2008 (Jiji Press)
Source: Japan Corporate News Network
http://japancorp.net/Article.Asp?Art_ID=17109
Sharp Corp. is set to enter the market for storage battery systems for houses by tying up with Daiwa House Industry Co. <1925> and Dai Nippon Printing Co. <7912>, informed sources said Tuesday. Sharp will purchase about 600 million yen worth of new shares to be issued in March by Eliiy Power Co., a Tokyo-based battery-making jointly venture between Daiwa House and Dai Nippon Printing, informed sources said.
After Sharp’s investment, Eliiy Power will be owned equally by the three companies, the sources said. Through Eliiy Power, Sharp, Daiwa House and Dai Nippon Printing will jointly develop large lithium-ion battery systems that can store electricity generated by solar power equipment, the sources said.
In autumn this year, the three companies will build a plant at a cost of 15 billion yen to start mass production of such batteries as early as in fiscal 2009, the sources said. Among candidate sites for the new plant is the city of Kawasaki, Kanagawa Prefecture, southwest of Tokyo, according to the sources.
They aim to sell the batteries at 500,000 yen or less per unit in the future, the sources said. The three companies hope that solar power generation will become more popular among Japanese households to help reduce emissions of carbon dioxide, the main cause for global warming, the sources said.