According to Chinese media IT Home, Prime Planet Energy Solution, a joint venture by Toyota and Panasonic, said in an interview on Nov 21 that it is looking for a new manufacturing site in Japan, in addition to its existing facility in Himeji, Tokyo.
Prime Planet Energy Solution CEO Hiroaki Koda said the company is looking for a new manufacturing location "with access to harbor and clean energy supply" in Japan, according to the report.
The company is currently producing EV batteries in Tokyo. Koda revealed that "there is room for production costs to go lower," according to IT Home, and that Prime Planet plans to reduce production costs by 60% by 2025, comparing to that in 2020.
Prime Planet is expected to source lithium carbonate from Ioneer's mining project in Nevada, US.
Panasonic is the long-term lithium battery supplier of Tesla. The company announced in August that it is expanding battery production in Nevada and Kansas.
