Japan Aims For 20% Share Of Global Battery Market By 2030

Japan is aiming for a 20% share of the global rechargeable battery market in 2030 by boosting global output capacity at Japanese companies nearly 10-fold to 600 gigawatt hours (GWh), the industry ministry said on Friday.

"We will step up our support to help the Japanese battery industry recover global market share, which it has lost over the past several years in the battle with Chinese and South Korean rivals," Nobutaka Takeo, a director at the industry ministry, told reporters.

Japan's market share in global lithium-ion batteries used in electric vehicles (EVs) dropped to 21% in 2020 from 40% in 2015, and its share in batteries used in energy storage systems fell to 5% in 2020 from 27% in 2016, the ministry said.

It did not give a figure for Japan's current overall market share in rechargeable batteries.

For the 2030 target, presented by the ministry at a specialist panel to discuss Japan's battery strategy, the country aims to boost domestic production capacity of batteries used in EVs and energy storage systems to 150 GWh by 2030 from around 20 GWh now.

It also aims to expand global output capacity by Japanese battery makers to 600 GWh by 2030 from the current 60-70 GWh, and will target full-scale commercialization of all-solid-state batteries around 2030.

The batteries are key for Japan to achieve carbon neutrality in 2050, as they are the most important technology in the electrification of automobiles and other mobility devices and essential for adjusting supply and demand of electricity to help boost use of renewable energy, the ministry said.

The ministry plans to lay out a final battery strategy this summer, including concrete support measures from the government.

(Reporting by Yuka Obayashi; Editing by Mark Potter)

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