Recent rumors in Japan, Matsushita (Panasonic) to consider acquisition of Sanyo Electric. For most people, the Panasonic and Sanyo are all electronic products in their daily see the brand name, but Sanyo, Matsushita value, in fact, to electrical appliances inside the battery. With an increasing number of portable electronic products, and the increasingly complex functions, coupled with the depot due to environmental factors need to increase the fuel hybrid vehicles, these obscure cells become manufacturers eyeing the market, which would also be l price of lithium – hundredfold, lithium ore will be hot.
A number of Japanese media and the financial news agency reported last weekend, Matsushita president Fumio Ohtsubo, and Sanyo president Seiichi Sano Lang met last month and has reached an agreement in principle by the acquisition of Sanyo, Matsushita, but the two sides have not discussed details of purchase price, The three major shareholders of Sanyo, Matsushita also talked with Goldman Sachs, Daiwa Securities and Sumitomo Mitsui to negotiate the matter.
Plug-in car key parts
Panasonic and Sanyo, once merged, the new company will become Japan’s largest electronics manufacturers, Hitachi beyond. However, Panasonic also cares about is the battery business.
The battery is currently primarily for personal portable computers, mobile phones, iPod and other portable electronic products use, the PC market continued steady growth, so that the battery demand. Moreover, the portable electronic products the trend towards multi-in-one go, has also been pursuing a more lightweight, which means the battery should also be more sophisticated technology. Among them, Li-ion battery is small and lightweight, charge can be a very long time, coupled with release of energy more, a lot of electronic products by the use of lithium batteries instead of nickel batteries.
How bright the future of the battery industry, Wednesday announced results from the Sanyo is evident. Sanyo in July-September quarter net profit fell 67%, also decreased the amount of profits the industry by 0.8% to ¥ 527,000,000,000 (416 billion), but instead the battery sales increased by 17% to ¥ 144,200,000,000. Sanyo and the economic downturn put the battery under the forecast of 11% of business revenue is estimated that the fiscal year ending in March next year, revenue of ¥ 553,000,000,000.
Moreover, the automotive industry effort to develop environmentally friendly cars, reducing the use of oil and other fuel emissions of greenhouse gases, while the hydrogen and other fuels hydrogen refueling station will shortly be faced with the sudden popularity of difficult questions, so plug-in hybrid cars are the maximum possible in the next few years of selling large quantities of vehicles, such as General Motors plans to launch Chevrolet Volt, and the ability to develop a reliable and lightweight battery will be a key. Automobile consumption than normal mobile phone and other portable electronic products more, a car battery hundreds of cell count (cell is a lithium battery units). Therefore, the automotive battery manufacturing sector, not only have a greater potential for growth, has also become the main battlefield of the industry.
Delta ID Japan Research Institute estimated the total global shipments of lithium batteries from last year’s 2.59 billion cell increased to 2.95 billion this year, around cell, an increase of up to 14%. Another survey estimates that this year lithium batteries turnover of approximately 57 billion Hong Kong dollars, compared with the previous year, an increase of about one into.
Sanyo Li-ion battery market leader
Sanyo is currently in the global Li-ion battery market has the largest share, accounting for about 23%, far ahead of second-Sony, and Panasonic only about 8%, ranked sixth in the world. Moreover, Matsushita and Toyota co-operation for the production of lithium batteries with Toyota, but that of the subsidiary factory fire last year, so Panasonic lithium battery production are difficult to quickly restore the level of the acquisition of Sanyo will develop lithium batteries Panasonic market shortcut. In addition, Toshiba plans to invest 20 billion yen to expand battery production plant to meet the needs of the automotive industry.
Matsushita has also tried to expand solar cell market. In recent years, rising oil prices, coupled with all the participating countries want to stop global warming, solar cells promising. U.S. research firm BCC Research forecasts the global solar cell market, 15% annual growth is expected to Twelve years later, the market value reached 284 billion Hong Kong dollars.
Sharp (Sharp), Mitsubishi Electric and other Japanese companies have invested heavily in developing solar cell, Panasonic has been unable to develop this business. Panasonic sources, Matsushita because its business focus on the fuel cell, and therefore the development of solar cells has been very slow in 2000, it began to be reduced to this business with out of the market is no difference.
Huge potential for solar cells
In contrast, Sanyo solar cells also have impressive results, has been able to produce its own world-class products, the last financial year has been able to produce a total equivalent to 260 million watts of solar cells currently in the global market share of 4% to 5%. Sanyo also boast that other countries have provided subsidies for solar power, but the Sanyo in the absence of government funding Zaochu the current results, convinced that their immense potential in this product an advantage over foreign companies.
However, lithium batteries have their disadvantages. Lithium is a corrosive substance on the batteries will have the opportunity to short-circuit and fire, news from time to time iPod battery recycling electronic products such as news, it reflects the lithium battery will take a very sophisticated technology and strict production process. Can the one hand, increase the lithium battery production, but at the same time ensuring quality and safety, will be the lithium battery industry challenges.