TOKYO, Japan, March 24, 2009 - GS Yuasa Corporation and Honda Motor Co., Ltd. today signed a joint venture contract to establish a new joint venture company. Since the signing of a basic agreement in December of last year, two companies have engaged in a series of discussions to determine concrete plans for the establishment of a joint venture company which will manufacture, sell and conduct R&D for high-performance lithium-ion batteries for applications with a central focus on hybrid vehicles. The new company, Blue Energy Co., Ltd., is scheduled to be established April 1, 2009.