Panasonic Corporation (Osaka, Japan) completed acquisition of a majority of the voting stock of Sanyo Electric Co., Ltd on December 21, 2009. With this acquisition, Sanyo has become a consolidated subsidiary of Panasonic and will continue pursuing its business as a Panasonic Group company.
Upon conclusion of a Capital and Business Alliance Agreement on December 19, 2008, the two companies set up a Collaboration Committee. While working to secure approvals for the acquisition from antitrust authorities at home and abroad, they began discussing, within the framework of applicable regulations, how to manage and strengthen the merged company's business and financial positions.
The new Panasonic Group will strive to realize synergies as early as possible by bringing together the technologies and manufacturing expertise each cultivated over the years and leverage the group synergies to the fullest extent to hone the competitive edge in the global market.
Particularly in the energy business where future growth is expected globally, the Group will strive to become the No. 1 Environmental Innovation Company in the world electronics industry by 2018, when Panasonic marks its 100th anniversary. To achieve this goal, it will capitalize on its solid operating base built upon its industry-leading technologies and innovative products.
Panasonic has also developed a 18650-type high-capacity 3.1 Ah lithium-ion battery and began mass production of the battery in mid-December 2009. The new 3.1 Ah battery has a nickel positive electrode and an energy density of 675 Wh/L. The same type (18 mm in diameter x 65 mm in length) of batteries are widely used in laptop computers. Lithium batteries represent a fast growing market for nanoparticles of lithium and carbon of various formulations.
Demand for lithium-ion batteries is growing as a power source for mobile devices such as laptop computers and mobile phones because their high energy density and light weight properties are suitable for these applications. As such devices become more sophisticated and powerful, they require more robust and safer batteries that do not cause abnormal heating.
The company successfully achieved safety and high capacity by using its unique Heat Resistance Layer (HRL) technology that forms an insulating metal oxide layer between the positive and negative electrodes. The layer prevents the battery from overheating even if a short circuit occurs.
Capitalizing on this technology, Panasonic commercialized a high-capacity 2.9 Ah lithium-ion battery with a nickel positive electrode (energy density: 620 Wh/L) in 2006. Based on the cell construction with the nickel positive electrode and the HRL, the company added improvements to the battery and succeeded in developing the 3.1 Ah lithium-ion battery, the industry's highest capacity in the 18650-type*. The new battery provides long-lasting power to laptops. This high energy density battery can also contribute to downsizing and weight reduction of portable devices.
With adoption of the nickel positive electrode, the new rechargeable battery excels in durability in actual use and charge retention - the battery can be stored for a long period of time because of low self-discharge. Panasonic will continue to refine its battery technology to deliver lithium-ion batteries combining safety with high capacity and use this technology to develop commercially viable green energy storage systems.
Below are the specification for Panasonic's new lithium battery.
*As of December 18, 2009
Model | NCR18650 (Current Model) | NCR18650A (New High Capacity Model) |
Capacity | 2.9 Ah | 3.1 Ah |
Volume energy density | 620 Wh/L | 675 Wh/L |
Diameter | 18.6 +0/-0.7 mm | 18.6 +0/-0.7 mm |
Height | 65.2 +0/-1.0 mm | 65.2 +0/-1.0 mm |
Mass | Approx. 44 g | Approx. 44.5 g |
Voltage | 3.6 V | 3.6 V |
Charging voltage | 4.2 V | 4.2 V |
Energy | 10.4 Wh | 11.2 Wh |
