Plastic batteries that won't catch fire set for mass production

Sanyo Chemical unit to start new factory in Japan next year

20200218N Exploding battery

Conventional lithium-ion batteries explode when punctured by a nail, as in this experiment.

SAYO YAMAMOTO, Nikkei staff writer

KYOTO -- Japan's Sanyo Chemical Industries aims to begin mass production next year of a new, fire-resistant type of rechargeable battery made almost entirely of plastic.

A 15 billion yen ($136 million) factory for the new batteries is slated to begin operation in the spring of 2021.

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