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TOKYO—Toshiba Corporation(TOKYO: 6502) today celebrated the opening of Kashiwazaki Operations, the company's second dedicated production facility for its safe, long-life, rapid charge SCiB™ rechargeable battery, with a completion ceremony and reception. The new plant is located in the Kashiwazaki Frontier Park, in Kashiwazaki city, Niigata prefecture. Manufacturing lines will start up gradually, and mass production is expected to start from February 2011.

Toshiba anticipates strong demand for SCiB™, most notably for application in battery-powered electric vehicles (EV). Kashiwazaki Operations will build on current production at Saku Operations in Nagano prefecture, and start volume production at 500,000 cells a month, starting with production of 20Ah cells for EV. The plant is expected to reach a capacity of over 1,000,000 cells a month within FY2011.

The new facility applies the same design concept as leading-edge semiconductor facilities: the ability to change layout of manufacturing equipment to meet different manufacturing requirements, and an operating structure that allows timely responses to increases in demand and product range. In addition, by optimizing the design and size of clean and dry areas, and minimizing the size of high-level clean areas, the new facility cuts the power required to maintain the manufacturing environment by up to a fifth.

Toshiba positions the SCiB™ as an emerging business with promising long term growth potential. Establishing the new production facility achieves an operating structure that allows timely responses to increasing demand from the new market for battery-powered EV and for the power storage market that will accompany the coming transition to digital Smart Grids. The company aims to achieve net sales of 200 billion yen from the SCiB™ business by fiscal year 2015.

Outline of Kashiwazaki Operations

- Location: Ohaza Karuigawa, Kashiwazaki City, Niigata Prefecture
- Site area: Approx. 33,000m²
- Structure of building: 3-story steel frame concrete
- Building area: Approx. 9,000m²
- Floor area: Approx. 21,000m²
- Completion of building: September 2010
- Start of production: February, 2011(plan)
- General manager: Shun Egusa
- Number of employees: Approx. 130 people (after April, 2011)

For more about SCiB™, please visit Toshiba's website: http://www.scib.jp/en/