Sony Recalls More Laptop Batteries

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By HIROKO TABUCHI

Sony Corp. said five computer makers are recalling 100,000 lithium-ion battery packs made by the company, the latest bad news to hit the Japanese electronics giant, which is already reeling from the global economic downturn.

The recall also shows the challenges involved in mass-producing a powerful yet safe battery technology that could drive next-generation consumer electronics and eco-friendly cars.

Sony said Friday it was cooperating in a recall of 2.15Ah lithium-ion cell batteries made in Japan and sold around the world in laptops made by Hewlett-Packard Co., Dell Inc., Toshiba Corp., Lenovo Group Ltd. and Acer Inc. There have been 40 reports of overheating, in some cases involving smoke or flames, according to a company statement.

Sony, the second-largest maker of lithium-ion batteries in the world after Sanyo Electric Co., was involved in a recall two years ago of more than nine million units of a higher-capacity battery. That recall affected almost all of the world's major PC manufacturers and cost Sony more than $400 million.

Still, Tokyo-based Sony has since boosted its production of the rechargeable batteries, spending more than 40 billion yen ($406 million) to increase production in Japan. It said in August that the investment, together with expanded lithium-ion battery operations in Singapore and China, should increase its monthly output capacity to 74 million cells in the year ending March 2011 from the current 21 million cells.
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