Japanese Government To Subsidize Battery Storage And Semiconductor Related Projects

Industry Minister Yasutoshi Nishimura announced on Friday that Japan will provide up to $1.8 billion in subsidies for a number of storage battery and chip-related projects, marking Tokyo's latest push towards greater supply chain security.

According to Nishimura, the government intends to provide up to 184.6 billion yen ($1.38 billion) in subsidies for eight storage battery-related proposals and up to 56.4 billion yen for two semiconductor-related projects.

Among the proposals it will support is a plan by Honda Motor Co Ltd and battery maker GS Yuasa Corp to invest approximately 430 billion yen in storage battery production, with the ministry providing up to 158.7 billion yen in subsidies.

"We have great expectations that this will lead to the stable supply of storage batteries and the promotion of GX (green transformation)," Nishimura said.

The minister's remarks came after the Nikkei newspaper reported late Thursday that Honda and GS Yuasa will collaborate to manufacture batteries for electric vehicles (EVs) and homes.

Honda and GS Yuasa will begin by constructing a new plant with a production capacity of at least 20 gigawatt hours (GWh), according to Nikkei, without specifying where the plant will be located.

Honda and GS Yuasa declined to comment, saying they would issue a press release later on Friday. "What minister Nishimura said is everything right now," a GS Yuasa spokesperson said.