Envision will double the number of battery cells in each car, which will make the vehicles heavier, but the upside will be the increased driving range. It is also hoping to increase production capacity by 10 times the current level by the end of this decade.

Envision is a supplier of Nissan Motor and provides the battery for Nissan’s Leaf whose driving range is around 450km now. Envision will pack the cells closely together and improve storage efficiency, which will shorten charging time by around 30% to under 20 minutes.

Envision will start building a new plant in Ibaraki Prefecture near Tokyo that will begin production in 2024. The plant will include a production line for new batteries, using energy from solar panels within the premises that will cut its carbon dioxide emissions to zero.

Envision also aims to market its all-solid-state battery. It will build new plants in Japan, China, the UK, France, and the US by the late 2020s and expand production capacity of all-solid-state batteries and lithium-ion batteries to a level equivalent to more than 1.1 million electric vehicles.

Chinese renewable energy company Envision Group has an 80% stake in Envision AESC while Nissan controls the remaining. In 2020, Envision AESC was the seventh biggest battery supplier in the world based on shipping volume.

Around 90% of all batteries shipped from the company go to Nissan now. However, the battery maker hopes to add other Japanese, Chinese, and European automakers to its client list so that by 2025, these customers will account for around half of its total transactions, CEO Shoichi Matsumoto told Nikkei in an interview.

As global demand for EV batteries rises, there is growing concern about the supply of raw materials. Large carmakers are already working to secure minor metals and other critical minerals. Envision AESC said it will work with the alliance of Nissan, Renault and Mitsubishi Motors to secure minor metal interests, Matsumoto added.