science

GS Yuasa

GS Yuasa is a science topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand GS Yuasa rather than just read about it. In short: GS Yuasa Corporation (株式会社ジーエス・ユアサコーポレーション, Kabushiki-gaisha GS Yuasa Kōporēshon) is a Kyoto-based Japanese company specializing in the development and production of lead acid and lithium-ion batteries, used in automobiles, motorcycles and other areas including aerospace and defense applications. History Yuasa In 1909, Shichizaemon Yuasa established Yuasa Iron Works to modernize the family business, founded in 1666…

Key takeaways

GS Yuasa belongs to science; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect GS Yuasa to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of GS Yuasa from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

GS Yuasa Corporation (株式会社ジーエス・ユアサコーポレーション, Kabushiki-gaisha GS Yuasa Kōporēshon) is a Kyoto-based Japanese company specializing in the development and production of lead acid and lithium-ion batteries, used in automobiles, motorcycles and other areas including aerospace and defense applications.

History

Yuasa In 1909, Shichizaemon Yuasa established Yuasa Iron Works to modernize the family business, founded in 1666 as a charcoal trading business. Yuasa Iron Works began producing storage batteries in 1915, and three years later Yuasa Storage Battery Co., Ltd was established. Soon after, Yuasa Storage Battery Co., Ltd began making Japan's first automotive batteries. In 1925, Yuasa began making dry cells, and in 1941 they began making alkaline cells. The dry battery business was later spun off into Yuasa Dry Battery Co., Ltd, which later merged back into Yuasa Storage Battery Co., Ltd to form Yuasa Battery Co, Ltd, later renamed to Yuasa Corporation.

In 1904, Genzo Shimadzu Jr. (島津源蔵, Shimazu Genzō; b. 1869 d. 1951) developed a high-capacity lead-acid battery to supply backup power to his factory during outages of Kyoto's then unreliable power grid. The Japanese navy purchased 400 units of this battery. Shimadzu established Japan Storage Battery Co., Ltd in 1917 and began producing automotive batteries in 1919. In 1938 they began producing alkaline batteries and in 1940 they began making high-pressure mercury lamps. GS was established in 1917 and is an abbreviation comprising the initials of Genzou Shimadzu Jr. who founded Japan Storage Battery in 1917. He was also the second president of Shimadzu Corporation founded in 1875 by his father, Genzo Shimadzu Sr. (島津源蔵, Shimazu Genzō; b. 1839 d. 1894).

GS Yuasa In 2004, Yuasa Corporation merged with Japan Storage Battery to form GS Yuasa Corporation. As of 2014, GS Yuasa had 9 plants for manufacturing industrial lead-acid and NiCd batteries and 5 plants for Li-Ion cells. GS Yuasa also sells other products including power supplies, lamps and motorcycle batteries. Now the top power sports battery producer, Yuasa provides nearly 90% of the batteries used in power sport vehicles in North America.

Joint ventures GS Yuasa was one of the active players in the electric vehicle battery industry during the late 2000s to early 2010s when numerous battery vendors largely from Japan had formed alliances with car manufacturers to enter the novel market of EV.

Lithium Energy Japan In 2007, GS Yuasa and Mitsubishi Motors have formed an alliance and started a joint venture named Lithium Energy Japan (LEJ) that develops and manufactures lithium-ion batteries for automotive and industrial use. The Mitsubishi i-MiEV, the first mass-produced electric car, was equipped with the batteries from LEJ.

Blue Energy Co. In 2009, Honda partnered with GS Yuasa to set up an EV battery supplier Blue Energy Co. (BEC). The HVs from Honda including Civic Hybrid have been powered by lithium-ion batteries manufactured by BEC which has a production facility in Kyoto. However, Honda has been in search for new partners aside from BEC since the late 2010s, teaming up with various companies like Nissan, General Motors, and CATL.

Lithium Energy & Power GmbH In 2014, Robert Bosch GmbH and GS Yuasa partnered on next-gen Li-ion EV battery with the ambitious goals to double energy density and make it to mass market by 2020 while lowering the cost by half as well. The venture has ended without a meaningful outcome after Bosch has decided to outsource battery cell manufacturing in 2018.

Overseas operations

United States

Yuasa Battery Inc Yuasa Battery, Inc (U.S.A.) was established in 1965. In 1979, Yuasa began producing motorcycle batteries in a joint venture established with General Battery Corporation in Laureldale, PA a few years earlier. Today, Yuasa Battery Inc supplies batteries for motorcycles, scooters, personal watercraft, all-terrain vehicles (ATV), and side by sides (UTV).

Yuasa-Exide Inc In 1987 Fruit of the Loom sold its General Battery Corporation to Exide Corporation. In 1991, Yuasa Battery Co. Ltd (Japan) bought Exide's industrial battery division, forming Yuasa-Exide Inc, later renamed to Yuasa Inc. In 2000, a management buyout of Yuasa Inc's industrial battery business formed Enersys. Today, Enersys sells a wide variety of batteries.

Europe In 1981, Yuasa established a company in the UK to manufacture VRLA batteries and another for sales and distribution. They later established companies in Germany, France, and Italy for sales and distribution. In 1988, Yuasa Corporation acquired a 50% share in Lucas Batteries Ltd, forming Lucas-Yuasa Batteries Ltd. Yuasa purchased the remaining 50% of Lucas Batteries in 1997, creating Yuasa Automotive Batteries Europe Ltd, which marketed automotive batteries under the Lucas brand and other names until 2006, when Yuasa began marketing automotive batteries in Europe under its own name. In 2002, Yuasa Battery Europe Ltd was formed as the parent company for Yuasa's various European sales companies. Today, Yuasa Battery Europe Ltd sells a variety of batteries.

Australia Century Batteries Australia is a division of Century Yuasa Batteries Pty Ltd and an affiliate of the GS Yuasa Corporation.

Vietnam GS Battery VietNam Co., Ltd is a company 100% foreign owned capital, joint venture between GS-Yuasa Corporation and Mitsubishi Corporation.

Miscellaneous

Boeing 787 The parent company in Japan was linked to faulty electrics used in Boeing's 787 Dreamliner plane. The electrical battery control system was made by Thales Group which also selected GS Yuasa. All Nippon Airways (ANA) had replaced 10 batteries (of 17 planes) while Japan Airlines (JAL) had replaced "several" on its 7 planes, before recent mishaps. As of January 29, 2013, the Japan Transport Safety Board has approved the Yuasa factory quality control and continues to investigate the damaged battery of the ANA 787. Meanwhile, the American National Transportation Safety Board continues to look for defects in the Boston JAL 787 battery.

Gallery

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with GS Yuasa

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what GS Yuasa claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to GS Yuasa before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about GS Yuasa ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of GS Yuasa

In research: GS Yuasa appears in science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses GS Yuasa in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: GS Yuasa is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 1666 establishments in Japan, Auto parts suppliers of Japan, Battery manufacturers, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for GS Yuasa outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

Affiliate

Preply — study more efficiently by working with a personal tutor. 50% off.

How to study GS Yuasa in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what GS Yuasa means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain GS Yuasa out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is GS Yuasa in simple terms?

Why does GS Yuasa matter?

Because it connects several science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study GS Yuasa?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on GS Yuasa.