Toyota Opens Battery Development Center in Michigan

Toyota has opened a new battery development center in Saline, Michigan, marking a further step in its effort to advance energy storage technology across multiple vehicle types. The facility began operating on October 1, 2026, and sits within the company’s existing research and development campus in the state. Known as the Toyota Battery Center of North America, it covers roughly 2,800 square meters.

The center is designed to handle the entire battery development cycle, from the sourcing of raw materials through in-vehicle deployment and on to recycling. Engineers and technicians based there will characterize batteries and work on new technologies, with testing spanning hybrid vehicles, plug-in hybrids, hydrogen fuel cell vehicles and fully electric cars. That broad scope reflects Toyota’s long-standing strategy of pursuing several powertrain technologies in parallel rather than committing solely to battery-electric vehicles.

The Michigan site is also meant to work closely with Toyota’s North American production network, including the Toyota Battery Manufacturing plant in North Carolina and the automaker’s vehicle factories across the region. By bringing battery evaluation under one roof, the company aims to streamline how new chemistries and designs move from early research toward real-world use.

Beyond internal work, Toyota plans to broaden access to the facility’s testing and research capabilities in cooperation with the University of Michigan’s Electric Vehicle Center. Toyota is one of the founding members of that center, and additional research partners are expected to make use of the evaluation equipment as well. The collaboration is also intended to help train the next generation of battery engineers and technicians in Michigan, reinforcing the link between the automaker’s R&D investment and local workforce development.