Hitachi hooks up Johnson Controls for batteries

Global technology company Hitachi signed an agreement with automobile battery maker Johnson Controls on Monday to pool their efforts on batteries and other fields of advanced energy storage.

Under the agreement the companies will work together on research and development, procurement, production, marketing, sales and standardisation on lithium-ion batteries and other energy storage technologies.

"The introduction of efficient energy storage is anticipated in various fields in society for sustainable growth of the global economy. Hitachi is focusing its resources on the Social Innovation Business and related key devices, including advanced battery system," Hitachi's Battery Systems Company's president Yoshito Tsunoda said in a statement.

Hitachi has a longstanding commitment to lithium-ion automotive batteries. In April the company created a rechargeable lithium-ion battery cell targeted at electrical vehicles and wind farms with a working life of over ten years.

Automotive battery specialist Johnson Controls already has a partnership with battery company Saft to mass produce lithium-ion batteries for hybrid vehicles.