From EV batteries to data-center energy storage to defense and space applications, batteries are a growth field that Japan's heavy-electrical and electronic-components makers are throwing everything at. But lumping them all together as "battery makers" hides how different their origins and strategies really are. Panasonic Energy absorbed Sanyo Electric's battery business and grew into a near "battery-pure-play" operating company and one of the world's largest suppliers of cylindrical cells to Tesla. GS Yuasa traces back to Japan Storage Battery, a lead-acid battery pioneer founded in 1895, and while defending its core automotive lead-acid battery business, it has built a high entry barrier in lithium-ion batteries for specialized applications — submarines, satellites, and aircraft. Murata Manufacturing, meanwhile, is primarily a maker of electronic components such as ceramic capacitors, and entered the battery industry as a "late arrival" by acquiring Sony's battery business in 2017. Revenue scale and growth trajectory diverge just as sharply across the three: in FY2026/3, Panasonic Energy and GS Yuasa both posted higher revenue and profit and set new record highs, while Murata Manufacturing's Energy & Power segment has seen revenue contract for three consecutive periods.

Panasonic logoPanasonic Energy
Murata Manufacturing logoMurata Manufacturing

Image: Panasonic logo / Murata Manufacturing logo (both public domain — Wikimedia Commons judged them to consist only of simple shapes/text and therefore not eligible for copyright protection), Wikimedia Commons. No GS Yuasa logo cleared for use under Commons' copyright terms could be found, so no image is shown for GS Yuasa.

Company History: Panasonic's Absorption of Sanyo, GS Yuasa's Lead-Acid Battery Pedigree, Murata's Entry via Sony

Panasonic's present-day battery business traces back to the capital and business alliance with Sanyo Electric announced in November 2008. Sanyo Electric had built its business around batteries, launching an "Energy Device Company" division centered on solar cells and automotive batteries in April 2011, and Panasonic spent roughly ¥800.0 billion acquiring the company. Sanyo Electric came under Panasonic's umbrella in 2009, and from 2011 onward the "SANYO" brand disappeared from the domestic market as the business was absorbed into Panasonic. This Sanyo-derived battery business — nickel-metal hydride batteries, lithium-ion batteries, and dry-cell batteries — forms the technological foundation of today's Panasonic Energy. In October 2022, the Panasonic Group shifted to a holding-company structure, and the battery business became an independent operating unit as "Panasonic Energy Corporation."

GS Yuasa's roots go back to 1895, when Genzo Shimazu manufactured Japan's first lead-acid battery. That technology grew into "Japan Storage Battery (GS)," which supported the domestic market as a major automotive and industrial lead-acid battery maker in the postwar era. In July 2003, Japan Storage Battery signed a basic agreement to merge operations with fellow lead-acid battery major Yuasa Corporation, and in April 2004 the two companies formed the holding company "GS Yuasa Corporation" through a stock transfer, listing on the First Sections of both the Tokyo and Osaka Stock Exchanges. That June, the business was reorganized by corporate split into nine companies, building a function-based subsidiary structure spanning manufacturing, sales, and the power-supply business.

Murata Manufacturing was founded in 1944 in Kyoto by Akira Murata as an electronic-components maker focused on ceramic capacitors — batteries were never part of its original business. Its entry into batteries began on July 28, 2016, when Sony announced it would transfer the battery business of its subsidiary Sony Energy Devices, along with manufacturing sites in China and Singapore, to Murata Manufacturing. The deal closed later than originally planned due to a review by Chinese authorities, completing on September 1, 2017, with the business handed over to Tohoku Murata Manufacturing (Koriyama, Fukushima Prefecture — the former Sony flagship battery plant), a wholly owned subsidiary established for the purpose. Relative to its core electronic-components business, the battery business remains, to this day, a comparatively new and non-core line for Murata Manufacturing.

Comparing Company Scale: Three Different Financial Trajectories (Past 4-5 Fiscal Years)

Panasonic Energy's segment definitions changed with the October 2022 shift to a holding-company structure, so strictly continuous disclosure spanning before and after the transition is limited. The table below shows revenue and (adjusted) operating profit for the periods that could be confirmed.

Panasonic Energy Corporation (fiscal year ending March, segment figures as reported by Panasonic Holdings)

Fiscal Year Revenue Operating Profit / Adjusted Operating Profit
FY2022/3 (FY2021) ¥764.4 billion Operating profit ¥64.2 billion (adjusted ¥68.2 billion)
FY2024/3 (FY2023) ¥915.9 billion Adjusted operating profit ¥94.6 billion
FY2025/3 (FY2024) ¥873.2 billion Adjusted operating profit ¥122.7 billion
FY2026/3 (FY2025, company forecast) ¥1.039 trillion Adjusted operating profit ¥168.0 billion

FY2023/3 (FY2022) is omitted because the figures could not be cross-checked across multiple sources. FY2026/3 is a company forecast as of 2025, not an actual result.

GS Yuasa (fiscal year ending March, consolidated, Japanese GAAP)

Fiscal Year Revenue Operating Profit
FY2022/3 ¥432.1 billion ¥8.4 billion
FY2023/3 ¥517.7 billion ¥13.9 billion
FY2024/3 ¥562.9 billion ¥41.6 billion
FY2025/3 ¥580.3 billion ¥50.0 billion
FY2026/3 ¥609.0 billion ¥60.2 billion (both record highs)

Murata Manufacturing Energy & Power Business Segment (batteries and power supplies, fiscal year ending March, segment revenue)

Fiscal Year Revenue
FY2022/3 ¥180.4 billion
FY2023/3 ¥214.6 billion
FY2024/3 ¥164.4 billion
FY2025/3 ¥155.7 billion
FY2026/3 ¥154.1 billion

Murata Manufacturing does not disclose segment-level operating profit. However, it reportedly booked a ¥49.5 billion impairment loss in the battery business in FY2024/3, contributing to that period's decline.

The numbers tell a story of contrast. Panasonic Energy and GS Yuasa both set record revenue and profit in their most recent fiscal periods, while Murata Manufacturing's Energy & Power segment has contracted for three consecutive periods since peaking at ¥214.6 billion in FY2023/3, falling to ¥154.1 billion in FY2026/3 — a 28% decline from the peak. The two companies whose original business was batteries have grown by capturing robust automotive and industrial demand, while for Murata Manufacturing, an electronic-components maker, improving the battery business's profitability remains the top priority, driving the kind of portfolio-narrowing moves — such as the divestiture of the micro primary-battery business discussed below — that continue to unfold.

Comparing Flagship Products

Panasonic Energy: Cylindrical Lithium-ion Batteries for EVs

Product Overview Notable Features
2170 cell Cylindrical lithium-ion battery Mass production began at the De Soto, Kansas plant on July 14, 2025, in addition to the existing Nevada plant; the two plants together are targeting an annual production capacity of roughly 32 GWh
4680 cell Large-format cylindrical lithium-ion battery Mass production planned at the Wakayama plant; under development as a next-generation EV battery
Consumer and industrial batteries Dry-cell, nickel-metal hydride, and other batteries Includes the consumer/industrial battery lineup inherited from Sanyo Electric

Panasonic Energy's technological core lies in the mass-production technology itself for the cylindrical lithium-ion batteries it has long supplied to Tesla. In the U.S., the company shifted its production strategy from a North-America-only footprint to a "Japan-U.S. dual-axis" approach; the De Soto, Kansas plant reached full operation in July 2025 and began producing 2170 cells. In Japan, the company is moving forward with plans to mass-produce next-generation 4680 cells at its Wakayama plant.

GS Yuasa: From Lead-Acid to Lithium-ion — a Product Lineup Strong in Specialized Applications

Product Overview Notable Features
Automotive lead-acid batteries Engine-starting batteries Flagship product; sales into the replacement (aftermarket) market are the primary driver of results growth
Industrial battery power supplies Emergency power supplies, stationary lead-acid batteries, etc. Growing emergency-power projects have driven recent revenue growth
Automotive lithium-ion batteries (Blue Energy) Produced by Blue Energy (Fukuchiyama, Kyoto Prefecture), a joint venture with Honda Its second plant began operating in April 2022; plans call for expanding annual production capacity from 50 million to 70 million cells by FY2025. Certified under the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry's "Supply Assurance Plan" in April 2023
Submarine-mounted lithium-ion batteries Specialized batteries for the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force Mass production began in March 2017 — Japan's first submarine-mounted lithium-ion battery
Large-format lithium-ion batteries for space Batteries for satellites and rockets Reliable enough to operate even in geostationary orbit at an altitude of roughly 36,000 km

Murata Manufacturing: Cylindrical/Coin-Type Lithium-ion Batteries and FORTELION

Product Overview Notable Features
Cylindrical/laminate-type lithium-ion secondary batteries Inherited from Sony; produced by Tohoku Murata Manufacturing (Koriyama, Fukushima Prefecture) For smartphones, laptop PCs, and industrial equipment
FORTELION Cylindrical lithium-ion battery using an olivine-type lithium iron phosphate cathode Marketed on high safety, deployed for energy-storage systems
Coin-type manganese dioxide lithium batteries (CR batteries) Primary batteries Used in automotive smart-entry systems and TPMS, and as memory-backup power for IoT devices
All-solid-state batteries (in development) For high-capacity wearable devices Targeting a capacity of 2-25 mAh, roughly 100x the capacity of competitors' products in development, though mass production has reportedly been delayed from the original schedule and is effectively stalled

A Difference in Technology Strategy: Panasonic's Mass-Production Technology, GS Yuasa's Specialized Applications, Murata's Selection and Focus

Panasonic Energy's strength lies in the mass-production technology for cylindrical lithium-ion batteries it has cultivated supplying Tesla. That said, the EV battery business has hardly been smooth sailing: in May 2024, struggles in priority areas including EV batteries were reported to have caused Panasonic Holdings as a whole to miss its mid-term targets. Reflecting on that, the company reorganized its production base from a North-America-only footprint into a "Japan-U.S. dual-axis" structure — 4680 cells at the Wakayama plant in Japan and 2170 cells at the De Soto, Kansas plant in the U.S. — with the Kansas plant reaching full operation in July 2025. Meanwhile, the real growth driver in recent years hasn't been the EV business alone: demand for data-center energy-storage batteries has expanded rapidly amid the generative-AI boom, reportedly growing into a pillar alongside EV batteries. As a next-generation technology, the company also has its sights on bringing to market an all-solid-state battery using an "anode-free" structure that dispenses with metallic lithium at the electrode, achieving a volumetric energy density of 1 kWh/L.

GS Yuasa's strength lies in maintaining a solid core business in automotive lead-acid batteries while building high technical credibility in specialized-application lithium-ion batteries that other companies cannot easily enter. In March 2017, it began mass production of submarine-mounted lithium-ion batteries for the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force, a track record unique to the company in Japan. It also handles large-format lithium-ion batteries for satellites and rockets, establishing reliability that holds up even in the harsh environment of geostationary orbit at roughly 36,000 km altitude. That technical credibility was once badly shaken, however. In January 2013, GS Yuasa-made lithium-ion batteries aboard Japan Airlines and All Nippon Airways Boeing 787s repeatedly smoked and caught fire, grounding the same aircraft type worldwide. The U.S. National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) concluded in its final report that the batteries had a manufacturing defect. Even after that experience, GS Yuasa has maintained and expanded its battery business in the high-reliability specialized applications of aircraft, submarines, and satellites, and in April 2023, an expansion plan for automotive lithium-ion batteries by its Honda joint venture Blue Energy (Fukuchiyama, Kyoto Prefecture) was certified under the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry's "Supply Assurance Plan for Storage Batteries."

The technical hallmark of Murata Manufacturing's battery business is applying its strengths as an electronic-components maker — miniaturization and high-density mounting technology — to batteries. The signature example is a high-capacity all-solid-state battery under development for wearable devices, targeting a capacity of 2-25 mAh, roughly 100 times the capacity of competitors' products in development. That said, mass production of this technology has reportedly been delayed 3-4 years from the original plan and is effectively frozen, with production investment nowhere near as aggressive as in its electronic-components business. In fact, Murata Manufacturing treats improving the overall profitability of its battery business as the top priority: it booked a ¥49.5 billion impairment loss in FY2024/3 and divested its micro primary-battery business, among other moves toward selection and focus as a non-core business.

Development & Manufacturing Facilities

Beyond its headquarters (Moriguchi, Osaka Prefecture), Panasonic Energy operates several plants centered on the Kansai region, including Wakayama, Suminoe, Sumoto (Minami-Awaji), and Tokushima. GS Yuasa's main facilities, beyond its headquarters (Minami-ku, Kyoto City), include the Kusatsu plant (Shiga Prefecture), which handles large-capacity lithium-ion batteries, and the Fukuchiyama/Osadano site (Kyoto Prefecture, also home to the Blue Energy plant), which produces lead-acid and lithium-ion batteries. For Murata Manufacturing, beyond its headquarters (Nagaokakyo, Kyoto Prefecture), Tohoku Murata Manufacturing (Koriyama and Motomiya, Fukushima Prefecture) — inherited from Sony — is the center of battery production. The map below plots the confirmed domestic facilities (overseas facilities and small subsidiary sites are out of scope).

Sources: For Panasonic Energy, facility names come from the official recruiting site's "Offices/Locations" page, with addresses confirmed via location-information sites (NAVITIME, Yahoo! Map, etc.). For GS Yuasa, the official "Business Locations / Group Companies" site was used as the primary source. For Murata Manufacturing, official location information for Tohoku Murata Manufacturing was used. Coordinates prioritize facility-name searches via OpenStreetMap Nominatim (for GS Yuasa's headquarters and Fukuchiyama/Osadano site, Murata Manufacturing's headquarters, and Panasonic's Sumoto/Minami-Awaji site, results matching the facility polygon were used); for facilities where a name search returned no result (Panasonic's headquarters, Wakayama plant, Suminoe plant, and Tokushima plant; GS Yuasa's Kusatsu plant; and Tohoku Murata Manufacturing's Koriyama and Motomiya plants), approximate coordinates at the town-block, nearest-station, or municipality level were used.

Business Strategy & Outlook

Panasonic Energy's FY2025 (FY2026/3) earnings outlook calls for revenue up 19% year-on-year to ¥1.039 trillion and adjusted operating profit up ¥45.3 billion to ¥168.0 billion, factoring in growth in both the EV and data-center segments. On the production side, the near-term focus is building out the 32 GWh capacity at the Kansas plant and mass-producing 4680 cells at the Wakayama plant, with an all-solid-state battery market launch in view over the medium-to-long term. That said, the EV battery business remains highly sensitive to U.S. policy and demand trends, and given that the mid-term targets went unmet in FY2024, how far the company can shift its center of gravity toward the new growth area of data-center energy storage will be the key question going forward.

GS Yuasa posted record revenue of ¥608.995 billion and record operating profit of ¥60.172 billion in FY2026/3. The growth drivers were higher sales of automotive batteries (domestic and overseas), industrial battery power supplies, and automotive lithium-ion batteries, together with a tailwind from U.S. IRA subsidies in the overseas automotive-battery business. Its Honda joint venture Blue Energy received certification under the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry's Supply Assurance Plan in April 2023, and the company plans to expand automotive lithium-ion battery production capacity in stages. The founding lead-acid battery business also remains solid, driven mainly by replacement demand — the "two-pillar management" of lead-acid and lithium-ion batteries is, at this point, working in sync.

For Murata Manufacturing, the battery business (the Energy & Power segment) remains a non-core operation, posting revenue of ¥154.1 billion in FY2026/3 — under a tenth of company-wide revenue — and trending downward over the past three periods. Moves to spin off lower-profitability areas are also visible, such as the divestiture of the micro primary-battery business. Development of next-generation technologies like all-solid-state batteries continues, but production investment remains restrained; in contrast to the strong performance of the electronic-components business (capacitors and the like), the battery business is not the lead role in Murata Manufacturing's growth strategy, and the question of how to position it within the business portfolio remains open.

References

#Batteries #Panasonic Energy #GS Yuasa #Murata Manufacturing #Lithium-ion Batteries #Lead-acid Batteries