Photo by Shoya Okinaga
Panasonic Holdings Corp. intends to invest billions of dollars to build a battery factory in Kansas. Sources said the factory will produce batteries for Tesla's supply.
Panasonic is investing several billion dollars in a second EV battery plant in the US. The new facility will be built in Kansas and will supply batteries to Tesla, according to Nikkei. It will also be Panasonic's second factory in the US focused on supplying the Texas-based manufacturer, which is the world leader in electric vehicles.
The Japanese conglomerate aims to triple or quadruple its electric vehicle battery production capacity by the fiscal year 2028 from its current level of around 50 gigawatt-hours per year. Thus, it will be able to meet Tesla's ever-growing need for battery cells.
Kansas Gov. Laura Kelly confirmed that Panasonic plans to develop an electric vehicle battery facility in De Soto. The manufacturer intends to invest $4 billion to build a factory that will create 4,000 jobs.
BREAKING: I just announced that Panasonic Energy plans to develop an electric vehicle battery facility in De Soto, KS -- a $4B investment that will create up 4,000 jobs and boost the entire state's economy. This is the largest private investment in Kansas history.
— Governor Laura Kelly (@GovLauraKelly) July 13, 2022
In March, it was revealed that Panasonic was in talks about a new US plant to supply Tesla and possibly other electric vehicle makers with next-generation lithium-ion batteries. The Japanese company was considering several sites for a multi-billion dollar plant, including one in Oklahoma and another in Kansas. The new plant was expected to start operating as early as 2024.
Panasonic planned to manufacture the newly developed, larger, and more powerful “4680”battery at a new US plant. In addition, the company also intends to install lines for the production of other types of batteries at the new facility, although this step will directly depend on consumer demand. Panasonic has said it plans to begin mass production of 4680 batteries in Japan in the fiscal year starting April 2023.
© 2022, Eva Fox | Tesmanian. All rights reserved.
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About the Author
Eva Fox
Eva Fox joined Tesmanian in 2019 to cover breaking news as an automotive journalist. The main topics that she covers are clean energy and electric vehicles. As a journalist, Eva is specialized in Tesla and topics related to the work and development of the company.
