Japan’s Panasonic Energy is doubling its US plants that produce lithium-ion batteries for electric vehicles from one to two. This time it will invest $4 billion (€3.9 billion) in Kansas where the new mega plant will also have a research division focused on next-generation batteries. The Panasonic Group Corporation has reached an agreement with the Kansas government stimulating foreign investment for the battery factory with the goal of advancing the electric vehicle industry in the United States. The new production site will create 4,000 new jobs. “With the increasing electrification of the automobile market, expansion of battery manufacturing in the United States is critical to meeting demand,” Kazuo Tadanobu, President and CEO of Panasonic Energy, said in a statement. Operation necessary to counter the fierce, multiple competition from South Korea (SK Innovation works with Ford in the US) and Japanese groups: Toyota plans to build its own battery plant in the US.
The announcement comes five years after Panasonic Group’s first major American showroom was created in Nevada, in 2017, in partnership with Tesla, which exclusively produces batteries for Elon Musk Group cars. In addition, Panasonic Energy, a leading manufacturer of electrified car batteries, has announced that it will also invest in Japan where it will renovate one of its factories to be able to produce the new lithium-ion battery.
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