By Greentech Lead America: Hyundai Heavy Industries and
Magna E-Car, a Canadian electric car parts maker, announced that they will form
a joint venture named MAHY E-CELL as a platform to co-develop and grow a
successful battery cell and battery pack business.
Under the agreement, HHI and Magna E-Car will jointly
conduct engineering, design, development and testing activities with the goal
of preliminary validation of battery cell and battery pack technologies for
electric and hybrid electric vehicle applications.
Both companies will invest a total of US$200 million and the
joint venture will be owned 60 percent by Magna E-Car and 40 percent by HHI.
Magna E-Car is a subsidiary of Magna, a supplier of car
parts for Ford, BMW, GM and Volkswagen. Magna has a plant in Canada where it
has been test-producing batteries since last year. The two firms plan to
produce 10,000 electric car battery packs per year at the plant in Canada from
2014 at the earliest.
parts for Ford, BMW, GM and Volkswagen. Magna has a plant in Canada where it
has been test-producing batteries since last year. The two firms plan to
produce 10,000 electric car battery packs per year at the plant in Canada from
2014 at the earliest.
Currently, the global electric vehicle market is dominated by GM’s Volt and
Nissan’s Leaf. The Volt uses LG Chem batteries while the Leaf relies on those
made by a Nissan-NEC joint venture.
Nissan’s Leaf. The Volt uses LG Chem batteries while the Leaf relies on those
made by a Nissan-NEC joint venture.
LG Chem has been able to produce 100,000 EV batteries a year as of late 2011.
Meanwhile, Samsung SDI, which is also able to mass-produce similar batteries,
is negotiating with automakers such as BMW to potentially supply them with
batteries.
Meanwhile, Samsung SDI, which is also able to mass-produce similar batteries,
is negotiating with automakers such as BMW to potentially supply them with
batteries.
HHI expects the establishment of MAHY E-CELL to serve as a stepping stone to
enter the Energy Storage System business and plans to link its solar and wind
power business with ESS as a new growth engine.
enter the Energy Storage System business and plans to link its solar and wind
power business with ESS as a new growth engine.
Recently, Hyundai expanded its hybrid lifetime battery guarantee.
editor@greentechlead.com