According to Nikkei, TDK plans to spend about 50 billion yen ($383 million) to build a factory in Japan to make parts for electric vehicles.
The new factory, located next to an existing plant in Kitakami, Iwate Prefecture, Japan, will produce multilayer ceramic capacitors (MLCCs) and is scheduled to be completed and put into operation by the end of 2024, the report noted.
TDK plans to double the output of capacitors, but has not disclosed specifics. However, the construction of the new factory is the largest investment TDK has ever made in expanding production capacity of electronic components, and it is TDK's first new capacitor factory in the past 16 years.
Nikkei also noted that electric vehicles are expected to increase demand for capacitors. Each electric car requires about 10,000 capacitors, about twice as many as gasoline cars. In addition, global electric vehicle sales will reach 35.44 million units by 2030, an increase of more than 7 times from 2021.
