Panasonic Energy is applying lessons from Tesla Giga Nevada to is upcoming battery plant in De Soto, Kansas. Panasonic Energy believes its new factory in Kansas will be the largest battery manufacturing plant in the world.
“We’re very excited by the backup that we have in terms of experience, in terms of the technological advancement that Panasonic brings,” said Innocent Chikunya, Vice President of Operations.
Tesla and Panasonic have been making battery cells for electric vehicles since 2017 at Giga Nevada, otherwise known as Gigafactory 1. Panasonic will apply the lessons it learned in Nevada at its new battery plant in Kansas.
Panasonic Energy will produce 2170 cells at the Kansas facility. Panasonic is investing $4 billion in its 4.7-million-square-foot battery facility in Kansas. As of the last week of June, the battery manufacturing plant was less than 50% complete.
Panasonic’s Kansas-based battery plant will have two wings. Each wing in Panasonic’s massive manufacturing plant will have four battery assembly lines. The company has made significant progress on the external infrastructure of the facility. The infrastructure for wing one is finished, and Panasonic has already started installing cell production equipment inside it. It will continue construction on wing two while installing equipment in wing one.
Panasonic Energy aims to open its Kanas facility by spring 2025. The company has committed to hiring employees to fill more than 4,000 jobs in the area over the next few years. Panasonic estimates the starting pay for jobs will range between $20 and $30 per hour.
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