Japan to give up to $1.8 bln in subsidies for storage battery, chip projects

GS Yuasa

28/04/2023 03:32

TOKYO, April 28 (Reuters) - Japan will provide as much
as $1.8 billion in subsidies for a slate of storage battery and
chip-related projects, Industry Minister Yasutoshi Nishimura
said on Friday, marking Tokyo's latest push towards greater
supply chain security.
        The government plans to give up to 184.6 billion yen
($1.38 billion) in subsidies for eight storage battery-related
proposals and up to 56.4 billion yen for two
semiconductor-related projects, Nishimura told reporters.
        Among the proposals that it will subsidise is a plan by
automaker Honda Motor Co Ltd  7267.T  and battery maker GS Yuasa
Corp  6674.T  to invest about 430 billion yen to boost storage
battery production, with the ministry providing up to 158.7
billion yen in subsidies for the project.
    "We have great expectations that this will lead to the
stable supply of storage batteries and the promotion of GX
(green transformation)," Nishimura said. 
    The minister's comment came after the Nikkei newspaper
reported late on Thursday that Honda and GS Yuasa will team up
to produce batteries for electric vehicles (EVs) and homes.
    Honda and GS Yuasa will start by building a new plant that
will target a production capacity of at least 20 gigawatt hours
(GWh), Nikkei reported, without giving details about where the
plant would be built.
    Honda and GS Yuasa declined to provide details, saying they
planned to issue a news release later on Friday. "At this
moment, what minister Nishimura said is everything," a GS Yuasa
spokesperson told Reuters.
        A joint venture, which the companies unveiled in
January, would play a central role in the development of
batteries and materials as well as capital investment, the
Nikkei said.
    Honda said in January that the joint venture was scheduled
to be set up sometime this year.
($1 = 133.9600 yen)

 (Reporting by Daniel Leussink; Editing by Jamie Freed)
 ((daniel.leussink@thomsonreuters.com; Twitter:
@danielleussink;))