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

GS Yuasa

28/04/2023 04:30

(Adds confirmation from companies and Honda CEO comments)
       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.
    In a statement, Honda, GS Yuasa and Blue Energy Ltd
 BLU.AX , another battery maker, said they planned to start
production in April 2027 and would start mass production in
October 2027.
        They said they would start by building a new plant that
would target a production capacity of at least 20 gigawatt hours
(GWh), but did not specify a location or give further details. 
        "We would like to respond to a wide range of battery
demand in Japan, which is expected to expand in the future,
mainly for BEVs (battery electric vehicles)," Honda Chief
Executive Toshihiro Mibe said in the statement. 
($1 = 133.9600 yen)

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