Panasonic Corp. is scouting for places to set up its U.S. factory, which will supply automaker Tesla with batteries. The company is looking for locations in Oklahoma and Kansas to manufacture 4,680 cells. This initiative could potentially lead to supplying other car manufacturers with the same batteries.
Panasonic has been a longtime Tesla supplier, and the project is expected to start in 2024. This is a significant step for the company, which is facing high demand for its batteries. It will also help Panasonic catch up with its competition, such as South Korea’s LG Energy Solution and China’s Contemporary Amperex Technology, both of which have scaled their operations.
The U.S. plant will be used to develop the next generation of batteries as well as establish production lines for other batteries. The larger volume of batteries means that an electric vehicle will need fewer cells and other related components to power. This is the reason why Elon Musk praises the technology’s potential of unlocking Tesla’s planned model worth $25,000.
Mass production of the batteries will begin in Japan from April 2023 after the company sets up a prototype manufacturing line in Japan. The company’s manufacturing experience will greatly influence the budget and timing for the U.S. plant.
According to NHK, the U.S. locations will be beneficial to Panasonic because the company will have a closer proximity to Tesla’s Texas headquarters, and a committee in Mayes County is currently reviewing a proposal that seeks to stimulate business operations. However, the public document did not identify the party.
On Monday, a Panasonic spokesperson said that the company had not made any announcements concerning the building of a new battery plant in the U.S. According to Kazuo Tadanobu, the CEO of Panasonic’s energy business, the chosen location’s potential would be analyzed based on the economics and partnerships. He said in an interview that the location still remains undecided.
Panasonic and Tesla maintain a longstanding partnership that has seen them jointly operate a battery plant known as a gigafactory in Nevada. The Japanese company is among several carmakers that are capitalizing on the current EV transition in the United States.
Last year, Ford announced that it would partner with Korea’s SK Innovation to build three battery factories in Kentucky and Tennessee. The project costs $11.4 billion and is expected to be ready by 2025. Meanwhile, Toyota is investing $1.29 billion to set up a battery plant in North Carolina that will be running in 2025.
As all these battery factories come on line, electric vehicle makers such as Nikola Corporation (NASDAQ: NKLA) may find it easier to create dependable local supply chains to ensure continuity in production.
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