It will be 6 GWh initially with an option for more in the future.
According to media reports, Nissan and Envision AESC will start a new joint investment in a battery plant in Japan – in Ibaraki prefecture north of Tokyo.
The first phase of the project would be 6 GWh annually, starting in 2023. The estimated initial cost of this new plant would be about 50 billion yen ($456 million).
Depending on the needs, the investment might be increased to 50 billion yen ($912 million) and up to 18 GWh annually.
It’s still not a very large scale, but if it would be only for the Japanese market, then maybe it could work out. Let’s recall that Envision AESC already operates a small battery plant in Japan (and a few more overseas):
- Zama, Kanagawa, Japan – 2.6 GWh
- Smyrna, Tennessee, U.S. – 3.0 GWh
- Sunderland, UK – 1.9 GWh
- plus a 20 GWh investment in Wuxi, China (but we don’t know how it progresses)
- Tota: 7.5 GWh + 20 GWh
The two partners recently announced a new battery plant investment in the UK (9 GWh per year initially and up to 35 GWh by 2030).
Envision AESC (formerly AESC – Nissan and NEC’s JV – acquired by the Envision Group in 2019, in which Nissan – as far as we know – still holds a 20% share) is a battery arm of global green tech company Envision Group.
Envision AESC is also working with Renault to build in France a 9 GWh battery plant by 2024 (up to 24 GWh by 2030). Actually, the site is expected to be larger, because Envision AESC will supply other manufacturers too.
With two significant new investments – one in the UK, and one in France – plus, a third one probable in Japan, Envision AESC is clearly in an expansion mode. It means also that Nissan will stick with its primary battery supplier.
