"Tesla Inc.'s main battery supplier in the U.S., Panasonic Holdings Corp, said it would build a $4 billion electric vehicle battery factory in Kansas, the latest move in the EV industry's race to increase capacity.
The new plant comes in tandem with Tesla's plans to boost U.S. production, including at a factory in Austin, Texas, that started delivering vehicles in April.
Japan-based Panasonic is battling larger South Korean and Chinese rivals for share of the EV battery market. General Motors Co. plans a $2.6 billion battery plant in Lansing, Mich., with South Korean partner LG Energy Solution, while auto maker Stellantis NV and South Korea's Samsung SDI Co. plan a $2.5 billion plant in Indiana.
"Expanding battery production in the U.S. is critical to help meet demand," said Kazuo Tadanobu, the head of the Panasonic unit that makes EV batteries.
Kansas beat out Oklahoma for the Panasonic Energy factory, in part by offering a package of subsidies that includes tax credits and partial rebate of payroll of as much as 10% a year.
Kansas Gov. Laura Kelly, a Democrat, called it the largest private investment in Kansas history and said it would create as many as 4,000 direct jobs.
Panasonic Energy already has a joint-venture battery factory with Tesla in Nevada, known as the Gigafactory, but recently it has been touting a lithium-ion battery type different from the one made in Nevada.
Panasonic's cylindrical 4680 battery, so called because it is 46 millimeters in diameter and 80 millimeters high, is larger and more powerful than its previous EV batteries and could improve the economics of EVs. The company is set to start trial production of its 4680 battery this year in Japan." [1]
1. Business News: Panasonic Plans U.S. EV Battery Factory
Yang, Jie.
Wall Street Journal, Eastern edition; New York, N.Y. [New York, N.Y]. 14 July 2022: B.3.
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