Chinese battery producer Envision AESC Group expects to start building batteries capable of giving EVs a range of at least 1,000 km (620 miles) in 2024.
Envision currently supplies its lithium-ion battery packs to Nissan where they are used in the Leaf. It is understood that battery developments will allow it to pack the cells closer together. It will also work to improve storage efficiency in order to reduce charging times by around 30 per cent to less than 20 minutes. Envision is also set to double the number of battery cells in each car which increases range but also makes vehicles heavier.
Nikkei Asia reports that Envision will establish a new plant in Ibaraki Prefecture near Tokyo that will produce the new batteries. The factory will be powered exclusively by solar panels and produce no carbon emissions.
Read Also: This Is How Much It Costs To Buy A New Nissan Leaf EV Worldwide And Where The U.S. Ranks
Envision was the seventh-largest battery supplier in the world based on shipping volume in 2020. Nissan owns a 20 per cent stake in it while Chinese renewable energy company Envision Group owns the remaining 80 per cent.
As it stands, roughly 90 per cent of all batteries produced by Envision are used by Nissan but while speaking with Nikkei Asia, Envision chief executive Shoichi Matsumoto said the company hopes to secure supply contracts with other Japanese, Chinese, and European car manufacturers and is hopeful that these new customers will account for roughly 50 per cent of its total transactions by 2025.
Envision AESC isn’t just developing its lithium-ion battery packs. The company intends on establishing production sites in Japan, China, the UK, France, and the U.S. by the late 2020s to also produce solid-state batteries, alongside its lithium packs. Moreover, it plans to build enough batteries for more than 1.1 million EVs.
