Panasonic will begin construction of a new battery cell plant in the state of Kansas in November 2022. The production facility in Kansas will be the second in the US after Gigafactory 1 in Nevada, which is co-operated with electric vehicle giant Tesla.
In July, Panasonic identified a site in De Soto for the construction of the company’s battery factory. Meanwhile the state of Kansas has approved a state incentive application submitted by Panasonic.
The production facility in Kansas will produce cells with the 2170 format beginning in late March 2025, with an initial annual production capacity of 30 GWh.
The production facility in Kansas will increase Panasonic’s 2170 production capacity in the US, as the cell format with the 2170 format is also produced at Gigafactory 1 in Nevada. However, it is not yet known whether the 2170 cells from Kansas are intended to be supplied to Tesla.
Panasonic may also produce 4680 new cells for Tesla there in the future. Sample production is currently underway in Japan.
In late August, the Wall Street Journal reported that Panasonic could build a battery cell factory of the same size in Oklahoma in parallel with the Kansas project. It is possible that the 4680 production will be located there and Kansas will remain with the smaller 2170 round cells.
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