Toyota, Panasonic Study Expanded Partnership on Advanced Batteries

Toyota Motors Corp. and Panasonic Corp. have agreed to study the feasibility of partnering to co-develop advanced battery cells for electric cars.

The companies say they hope to find ways to reduce battery manufacturing costs. They will focus on prismatic (flat-sided) cells that offer greater packaging density than the cheaper and easier-to-make cylindrical units Panasonic currently supplies.

Toyota reportedly aims to introduce an EV equipped with a solid-state battery, which promises greater power density and the ability to be recharged within a few minutes, by 2022. Other developers, including LG Chem and Fisker Inc., also are pursuing solid-state battery technologies.

Toyota has partnered since 1996 with Panasonic on a battery-making company called Primearth EV Energy Co. The venture, which is 81% owned by Toyota, supplies conventional nickel-metal hydride and lithium-ion batteries for the carmaker’s plug-in hybrid vehicles.

Until now, Toyota has concentrated on battery-piston hybrid powertrains and bet on the ultimate superiority of fuel-cell technology. But fuel cells aren’t viable without a costly hydrogen supply infrastructure, which would take many years to build.

Now the carmaker is scrambling to fill in the gap with battery-electric models, the first of which won’t be ready until 2020. Toyota has partnered with Suzuki Motor Corp. to develop EVs for China and India. Three months ago Toyota also launched a venture with Mazda and Denso to develop a common EV powertrain architecture and supply the system’s components.