The new Panasonic Kansas factory will start its first phase of production soon. However, this facility will not manufacture the previously promised 4680 battery cells.
(Photo : Photo by Christian Marquardt/Getty Images)
A newly completed Tesla electric car at the official opening of the new Tesla electric car manufacturing plant on March 22, 2022 near Gruenheide, Germany. The new plant, officially called the Gigafactory Berlin-Brandenburg, is producing the Model Y as well as electric car batteries.
Instead, the consumer electronics company announced that it will be focusing on the 2710 batteries.
"We decided to start with the 2170 model, which can be launched with a sense of certainty and speed because of the need for batteries as soon as possible," said Panasonic Holdings CFO Hirokazu Umeda via Reuters.
As of writing, the construction of the new factory hasn't begun.
But, Panasonic said that it will start as early as November, with an expected completion date of March 2025.
Panasonic Announces Its Kansas Factory's First Battery Cell
According to Electrek's latest report, Panasonic wants its upcoming Kansas manufacturing plant to start producing 30GWh of battery cells.
(Photo : Photo by David Becker/Getty Images)
Attendees walk by the Panasonic booth during CES 2018 at the Las Vegas Convention Center on January 9, 2018 in Las Vegas, Nevada. CES, the world's largest annual consumer technology trade show, runs through January 12 and features about 3,900 exhibitors showing off their latest products and services to more than 170,000 attendees.
This is almost 60% of the electronics firm's annual EV production capacity in the United States and Japan.
Panasonic added that the new battery cell wants to expand the existing production of its 2170 EV batteries. Although it is not the newer 4680 battery cell, this model is still highly in-demand.
Panasonic Energy Co. CEO Kazuo Tadanobu said that they decided to construct the new Kansas factory since they want to enhance their battery production capacity in North America.
He added that Panasonic wants to ensure that the demands of their automotive partners are met. Aside from this, Panasonic's CEO also said that they want to drive the growth of the li-ion battery industry.
The official further shared their commitment to helping achieve zero emissions in the future so that consumers can have a sustainable environment.
Budget and Other Details
As of press time, the consumer electronics giant hasn't confirmed much detail regarding the costs of the factory.
However, some enthusiasts claimed that the new Kansas manufacturing facility would be around $4 billion.
When it comes to location, the new factory of Panasonic will be around 700 miles from Tesla's Gigafactory in Texas.
Also the factory's 2170 battery cell mass production is also expected to start on March 2025.
Previously, Tesla Model Y finally became Europe's best-selling car.
Recently, Uber's EV rental program has been claimed to be a success.
For more news updates about EV battery cells and other related topics, always keep your tabs open here at TechTimes.
Related Article: Honda Launches Battery Swap Station for Electric Motorcycles in Japan
This article is owned by TechTimes
Written by Griffin Davis
