In the message of the "GS Yuasa Report 2023", President Murao expressed his thoughts on the establishment of "Vision 2035". Please take a moment to read it.


Committing to solving social issues
by focusing on mobility and public infrastructure

 In April 2023, we announced “Vision 2035,” our long-term vision. This defines GS Yuasa’s ideal vision for 2035 of achieving “Innovation and Growth” for the next 100 years, based on the DNA of our founders and the knowledge we have accumulated over a history of more than 100 years. This is a guideline for our strategy and may become something of a North Star for us to follow in the years to come. Our goal will be to contribute to solving social issues in the fields of mobility and public infrastructure, as we work toward the realization of a sustainable society and the creation of comfortable living environments for all.

Backcasting to define a path to realizing our ideal vision

 In formulating Vision 2035, we began by first predicting some of the long-term environmental changes in our areas of business. Global demand for storage batteries, our mainstay product, is expected to grow by more than 40 times, from 230 GWh in 2019 to about 10,000 GWh in 2050.
 In the mobility field, electrification aimed at achieving zero emissions is expected to accelerate, while advancements continue in self-driving technology. In response to this shift to electrification, we felt it necessary to also shift our business structure from one focused primarily on conventional lead-acid starter batteries to one centered on lithium-ion drive batteries.
 In the public infrastructure field, meanwhile, the importance of storage batteries, which are necessary for adjusting supply and demand in power grids and business sites, is expected to grow further as deployment of renewable energy expands toward the realization of carbon neutrality. In addition, the importance of backup applications in areas such as electric power, information, and telecommunications infrastructure will increase further.
 In this market environment, we have thus set a firm direction aimed at steadily growing our business by riding global tailwinds and expanding in our areas of strength, while transforming our business structure.

A commitment to technology
and trusting relationships with partners as strengths

 During our project to formulate Vision 2035, we had members at the section manager level, who are expected to be active on the front lines by sometime around 2035, to participate, starting with initial discussions of our vision and preparation of a draft. Later, our management team, including myself and our outside directors, examined the draft closely, discussing the future of the Company while working out a final version of Vision 2035.
 One of the most memorable parts of these talks was when we discussed the opinion that, given the financial and competitive environment, a large-scale investment in the lithium-ion battery business for BEVs might be too risky. Certainly, the decision to switch gears to lithium-ion batteries for BEVs from our base in lead-acid batteries, on which the Company had grown, was a decision that comes with some risk. That said, I personally felt that lithium-ion batteries for BEVs were a piece absolutely essential to our company’s growth. To compete in the BEV lithium-ion battery market, we cannot do business on our own— partnerships with companies that have extensive experience and expertise are critical. Our growth has continued thanks to collaboration and co-creation with a variety of partners, including Blue Energy Co., Ltd. and Lithium Energy Japan. That is why, as a technology-driven company since our founding, we must be thoroughly committed to technology. We have concluded that by doing so, partners will choose to work with us, and the Company can continue its sustainable growth with them.