Honda Motor and Japanese trading house Mitsubishi Corporation will join forces to explore new business opportunities in the electric vehicle (EV) battery segment, according to local reports.

The news came shortly after Toyota announced an alliance with Japanese energy group Idemitsu Kosan to develop solid state batteries for EVs.

Honda and Mitsubishi are eyeing opportunities to use batteries as an energy source at the end of their EV lifecycle and also opportunities in smart charging which optimises energy storage by recharging during low grid demand times. Households stand to benefit by consuming more, cheaper off peak energy.

Honda CEO Toshihiro Mibe said in a statement “We will not only sell EVs but take a proactive approach to energy management where EV batteries will be used as an energy source."

The two companies have agreed to set up an operation to monitor the use of batteries in a forthcoming Honda mini-EV model with a view to transferring their use to stationary energy storage systems (ESS).