Hitachi, Shin-Kobe consider HEV rechargeable Li-ion battery venture

Hitachi Ltd and Shin-Kobe Electric Machinery Co. Ltd have started discussing toward establishing a joint venture company to market, develop and manufacture rechargeable Li-ion batteries for hybrid electric vehicles (HEV).

Scheduled to be established this year, the joint venture is expected to enable Hitachi and Shin-Kobe Electric Machinery to capitalize fully on the strengths of both companies in the rechargeable lithium-ion battery field to meet full-scale expansion in demand for these batteries.

With the new company facilitating more efficient and quicker marketing, development and production than before, the aim is to build a business framework that achieves greater investment efficiency and speeds the pace of development through the concentration of development resources, while raising cost competitiveness and production efficiency.