SEPTEMBERASIA BUSINESS OUTLOOK8Toyota Motor Corp will triple its planned investment in a new battery plant in the US from $1.29 billion to $3.8 billion, it said in a move that acknowledges greater consumer demand.Battery maker Panasonic will be a partner in the factory in Liberty, North Carolina, through its Prime Planet Energy & Solutions (PPES) joint venture with Toyota, a senior official at Toyota Motor North America said. The Liberty plant is slated to open in 2025. PPES will provide expertise in battery making technology and equipment, Norm Bafunno, senior vice president of powertrain manufacturing and engineering at Toyota Motor North America said.Panasonic also has a joint battery making venture with Tesla in Nevada and recently announced plans to build a $4 billion plant in Kansas that is expected to supply Tesla and other automakers. When Toyota announced the initial $1.29 billion investment last fall, North Carolina said the state would boost reimbursement to Toyota by $315 million if the company's investment topped $3 billion. Toyota now plans to add two production lines dedicated to making batteries for fully electric vehicles at the Liberty plant, in addition to the four lines initially planned to make smaller batteries for hybrid vehicles such as the Toyota Prius, Bafunno said. He declined to provide the plant's planned production capacity.Initially, he said, the plant will make lithium-ion batteries using relatively conventional electrode technology ­ a mixture of nickel, cobalt and manganese for the cathode and graphite for the anode. But newer technologies, including solid state electrolytes, could be introduced over time. "This technology is going to evolve quickly", Bafunno explained. The higher investment figure for the Liberty plant follows the recent passage of the US Inflation Reduction Act, which provides incentives for manufacturers and tax TOYOTA TO TRIPLE INVESTMENT ON EV BATTERY PLANT IN USNEWSROOMTHE FIRM IS AIMING TO BEGIN BATTERY PRODUCTION BETWEEN 2024 AND 2026 WITH AN INVESTMENT INTENDED TO AUGMENT BATTERY PRODUCTION CAPACITY IN BOTH THE COUNTRIES BY UP TO 40 GIGAWATT HOURS (GWH)
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