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Toda America Signed an Contract with U.S. Department of Energy for U.S. Battery Manufacturing Investment

Toda America, Inc., a subsidiary of Toda Kogyo Corp. in Japan, today announced the conclusion of an Award Contract with U.S. Department of Energy ("DOE"), which was granted by DOE under the Recovery Act – Electric Device Vehicle Battery and Component Manufacturing Initiative in August, last year. The amount of the award is $35 million, one half of Toda America’s total planned investment in the manufacturing plant of $70 million.

Toda America plans to build its manufacturing plant of cathode materials for lithium-ion batteries in Battle Creek, Michigan as soon as the site remediation work is completed and regulatory approvals are obtained in the next 1-2 months.

Toda expects to complete Phase 1 and plans to start its operation in February, 2011. The plant will be expanded step by step until 2013, reaching its full manufacturing capacity of 4,000 tons of finished product per year. The total sales volume based on the full capacity operation at the facility will be around $130 million.

"This is a critical step for Toda Kogyo Group in our quest to maintain our global leadership as the premier supply chain partner to both battery and electric vehicle manufacturers around the world," said Junichi Nakano, President and CEO of Toda America.

In parallel with the Award Contract with DOE, Toda America has been working with the State of Michigan and the City of Battle Creek to finalize various agreements and financial incentives for the manufacturing plant in Battle Creek based on the planned job creation and capital investment.

Lithium is expected to be in increasing demand as carmakers look to costly but more efficient lithium-ion batteries to power hybrid and electric vehicles.

The project is expected to add 50-60 direct new jobs, and up to a total 148 new jobs including 91 indirect jobs according to the MEDC. "The Toda project contributes triple benefits of strategic acceleration of US electrification of vehicles, immediate creation of green tech jobs, and redevelopment and reuse of existing industrial land in support of urban revitalization," said Toda consultant David Han, President of Turtlerock Greentech.

Toda Kogyo Corp. (Parent company of Toda America, Inc.): Toda Kogyo Corporation is a global leader in solid state chemistry of advanced materials like high-quality iron oxides, numerous other inorganic compounds and built-to-specification products including cathode materials key to the advancement of battery systems.

Toda Kogyo Corp. has backward integrated into unique nanoscale synthesis technologies in order to control quality of the whole supply chain and to build a business on providing materials, research and solutions to many of the world’s top companies.
About Turtlerock Greentech LLC

Turtlerock Greentech is a venture development and consulting company focused on sustainable transportation and renewable energy technologies, and is consultant to Toda on the DOE project.

www.trgreentech.com

www.todaamerica.com 

www.todakogyo.co.jp.