CEATEC 2025 concludes. Battery Supply Chain Council (BASC), alongside 70 participating companies, communicates the present and future of the battery industry.

CEATEC 2025, a comprehensive digital innovation exhibition, was held at Makuhari Messe for four days from Tuesday, October 14 to Friday, October 17. Within this event, the Battery Supply Chain Council (BASC) exhibited the largest booth dedicated to communicating the diverse initiatives of Japan's battery industry.

BASC is an organization established in April 2021 (with 243 member companies as of October 2025) aiming to develop the battery supply chain in a sustainable manner and contribute to the battery industry in Japan and globally. This marked BASC's second consecutive year exhibiting at CEATEC.

Under the theme "Move. The Future.", BASC's booth brought together various companies involved in Japan's domestic battery supply chain, from upstream to downstream. It broadly communicated the importance of "batteries" as the key to realizing a carbon-neutral society. Throughout the event, the booth was bustling daily not only with industry professionals but also with companies seeking new business co-creation and general visitors. Approximately 17,000 people visited over the four days.

The booth introduced the overall battery supply chain through videos and exhibits, highlighting efforts to build and strengthen an integrated system encompassing resource acquisition and reuse. Initiatives included distributing "Business Hint Files" (flyers compiling company information) to facilitate connections between participating companies and firms seeking new business collaborations, and a "Career Showcase" introducing the work and career paths of professionals active within participating companies.

Inside the booth, the latest information on the "Japanese Battery Passport" was also unveiled. This initiative aims to create a system for maximizing resource recycling in resource-scarce Japan and to respond to international trends like the "European Battery Regulation" (*1).

※1=The "European Battery Regulation" takes effect in 2023. It requires visualization of the entire battery lifecycle process, from resource procurement to collection, recycling, and reuse, including carbon footprint information. While the start of due diligence obligations has been postponed to 2027, once applied, it will mandate disclosure of information regarding the lifecycle of vehicle batteries for electric vehicles sold in Europe.

Building on the "Uranos Ecosystem" initiative led by the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) to promote cross-industry data linkage, inter-industry DX involving BASC is advancing toward the social implementation of a "Japanese Battery Passport" enabling secure and reliable data sharing among companies in the supply chain (※2).

※2=Within Japan, the Automotive & Battery Traceability Center (ABtC), a general incorporated association promoting and operating data sharing, was established in 2024. BASC is a member company.

On Tuesday, October 14, the first day of CEATEC, a press event was held to announce the Battery Advanced Talent Dissemination Network "BATON". BASC Chairman Hiroaki Yoshida outlined goals including widely promoting and raising awareness about cultivating advanced talent to support the realization of a decarbonized and digital society, contributing to the development of Japan's storage battery industry through industry-government-academia collaboration, and training 30,000 personnel across the entire battery supply chain.

Other events included a dialogue between 2019 Nobel Prize in Chemistry laureate Akira Yoshino and BASC Acting Chairman Kazuo Tadano, as well as a special event where popular science artist Genki Ichioka provided an accessible explanation of the "scientific fascination" of batteries. The area around the special stage within the booth was bustling with many visitors.

Reflecting on the booth's participation, BASC Chairman Yoshida stated, "We were able to effectively convey our commitment to advancing the battery industry's development and growth through integrated industry-government-academia collaboration, involving participating companies (70 this time), the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry, and relevant educational institutions." He added, "While CEATEC offers insights into various cutting-edge technologies, the industry must also collectively consider 'how to succeed in business.'I believe this BASC booth served as a place where visitors could experience that to some extent."

Rechargeable batteries, due to their reusability, are widely utilized in renewable energy systems and EVs, driving significant global market expansion. The Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) has also taken steps, such as formulating the "Storage Battery Industry Strategy" in 2022 and initiating discussions through the "Storage Battery Industry Strategy Promotion Council" starting in 2023 to advance industry-government-academia collaboration.

BASC's four-day exhibition at CEATEC 2025 strongly impressed upon attendees the efforts to build a robust collaborative framework for Japan's battery supply chain and the critical importance of batteries as social infrastructure.