Panasonic Building $4 Billion Automated Factory For New Tesla Batteries In Kansas
Panasonic will establish a new electric vehicle battery factory in Kansas that will produce and supply Tesla with its new 4680 cells.
The company chose between potential sites in Kansas and Oklahoma before settling with the former due to its proximity to Texas and favorable tax treatment. Panasonic says it will invest approximately $4 billion into the site and that it will create up to 4,000 new jobs.
Panasonic aims to triple or quadruple EV battery production capacity across all its facilities by the 2028 fiscal year from the current level of 50 gigawatt-hours per year, Nikkei Asia reports. This plan will see it install two production lines at a battery component factory in Wakayama Prefecture, Japan in the 2023 fiscal year. This investment alone is worth $580 million and will see the Japanese site also manufacturing the 4680 cells.
It is understood that increasing production demands from Tesla were a major factor in its decision to establish a new factory in the U.S.
“As the largest private investment in Kansas history and one of the largest EV battery manufacturing plants of its kind in the country, this project will be transformative for our state’s economy, providing in total 8,000 high-quality jobs that will help more Kansans create better lives for themselves and their children,” Kansas Governor Laura Kelly said in a statement. “Winning this project has shown that Kansas has what it takes to compete on a global scale — and that our pro-business climate is driving the technological innovation needed to achieve a more prosperous and sustainable future.”
Panasonic currently operates the Gigafactory 1 in Nevada alongside Tesla. The technology company invested approximately $1.455 billion into this facility.
A multitude of battery and car manufacturers have announced plans to establish new factories throughout the United States in recent months. For example, LG and General Motors will spend a combined $2.6 billion on a new battery plant in Michigan. LG Energy Solution will also invest $1.4 billion to build a new battery factory in Arizona. This site will begin production in 2024 and have the capacity to produce 11 gigawatt-hours of battery cells each year.
CATL is also looking to establish a battery factory in the U.S. to supply the likes of Ford and BMW. Hyundai also recently announced plans to invest approximately $5.54 billion into the state of Georgia to establish dedicated electric vehicle and battery manufacturing facilities.
