Bosch Group attacks electric vehicle battery technology

The Bosch Group and GS Yuasa Co., Ltd., based in Kyoto, Japan, and Mitsubishi Corporation, located in Tokyo, jointly established a joint venture company, Lithium Energy and Power GmbH & Co. KG. The new company is headquartered in Stuttgart, dedicated to the development of a new generation of lithium-ion battery technology, which will promote the successful popularity of electric vehicles in the next decade. Dr. Volckermar Dunner, Chairman of the Bosch Group's Board of Directors responsible for research and development, said: “We hope to establish a joint venture company to double the efficiency of lithium-ion batteries and achieve a huge leap in the development of battery technology.”

The increase in battery efficiency means that the range of electric vehicles is extended. At the same time, for consumers, the smaller rechargeable battery also means that the price of electric vehicles will be more favorable. Bosch and its partners believe that as an environmentally-friendly and sustainable transportation solution, electric vehicles are expected to become popular by 2020.

The joint venture Lithium Energy and Power GmbH & Co.KG was established in November 2013. Bosch owns 50% of the joint venture company, and GS Yuasa and Mitsubishi Corporation each hold 25%. The composition of the board of directors of the joint venture company is consistent with its shareholding ratio. Its members include Dr. Rolf Speicher of Bosch Group, Toshio Ohara of GS Yuasa and Yutaka Kashiwagi of Mitsubishi Corporation. They will lead a team of about 70 people working in Germany and Japan.