Nissan, NEC to make hybrid batteries

[IDemo]

Joint venture’s products to be made available to all automakers

Associated Press - April 13, 2007

TOKYO - Nissan is tying up with electronics maker NEC in producing batteries for ecologically friendly vehicles, the companies said Friday, signaling efforts by the Japanese automaker to catch up with rivals that have a head start in green technology.

Nissan Motor Co., Japan's No. 3 automaker, and NEC Corp. are investing $4 million to set up a joint venture, by the end of this month, to produce lithium-ion batteries for green vehicles including electric cars and hybrids by 2009, they said in a statement.

Nissan has fallen behind Japanese rivals Toyota Motor Corp. and Honda Motor Co. in developing hybrids and other ecologically friendly technologies that reduce gas emissions blamed for global warming.

Tokyo-based Nissan has started selling hybrid cars, including the Altima, but licenses the technology from Toyota. Hybrids switch between a gas engine and electric motor to deliver better mileage and a reduction in carbon dioxide emissions.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/18089490/

[OKIsItJustMe]

1. From the Nissan Press Release

http://www.nissan-global.com/EN/NEWS/2007/_STORY/070413-01-e.html

...

AESC will mass produce lithium-ion batteries with a set of unique properties that makes them a highly competitive and appealing energy-generation solution for automotive application. Among the multiple advantages that the new batteries will offer are cutting-edge and environmentally-friendly technology, cost competitiveness, superior performance, safety, and versatility.

Nissan’s partnership with NEC represents a key component of its “Nissan Green Program 2010” mid-term environmental action plan, as announced in December, 2006. “As a ‘Sincere Eco-Innovator’, Nissan continues to develop forward-looking ‘green technologies’ that contribute to sustainable mobility. Nissan will introduce our own original hybrid vehicle by 2010, followed by our next generation electric vehicle in the early part of the next decade,” said Carlos Tavares, Executive Vice President of Nissan.

“Together, Nissan and NEC’s engineers have addressed the key challenges of cost, performance, safety and reliability – we believe that we have a breakthrough technology in the lithium-ion battery product we will produce. Through AESC, this battery will be made available to all automakers, and we expect this could further accelerate the development of future generations of eco-friendly vehicles,” explained Tavares.

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This could be good news for GM's "Volt."