DENSO to Build Power Electronics Evaluation Facility in Aichi, Japan

DENSO Corp. has announced it will build an evaluation facility to strengthen its development of power electronics products, such as inverters used in hybrid vehicles worldwide, on the site of its Anjo Plant in Anjo, Aichi, Japan.

With an investment of 11.5B Yen (about $125 million), construction of the facility is scheduled to begin on March 1, 2013, and is expected to be complete by late November. The facility will begin operations in April 2014. The new facility will occupy 23,320 square meters. The overall Anjo Plant occupies 232,000 square meters of floor space and has over 2,700 employees. Products produced there include starters and alternators for internal-combustion vehicles and various products for electric and hybrid vehicles.

“At our new facility, we will evaluate the performance of our power electronics products as well as conduct research and development of next-generation products,” said Masahiko Miyaki, senior executive director responsible for DENSO’s Powertrain Control Systems Business Group. “The new facility will allow us to evaluate product performance more accurately, and by sharing the evaluation results with the R&D group, we can increase our development efficiency – and create more competitive products.”