Panasonic has announced it is building a $4 billion EV battery cell production facility, which it will operate in Kansas, USA. It will be one of the world’s largest production facilities for making battery cells for electric vehicles, and will be built on the site of an old ammunition factory.
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“As the largest private investment in Kansas history and one of the largest EV battery manufacturing plants of its kind in the country, this project will be transformative for our state’s economy, providing in total 8,000 high-quality jobs that will help more Kansans create better lives for themselves and their children,” Kansas Governor Laura Kelly said.
The production facility will make high-capacity battery cells for Tesla. It will be the second Gigafactory that Panasonic operates for Tesla, with the first being in Navada. This project is expected to produce 4,000 permanent jobs at the factory as well as 16,500 construction jobs, according to Panasonic.
Tesla produced 90 percent more vehicles in 2021 as compared to 2020, finally starting to reach its car delivery targets. The company had begun developing a proprietary line of batteries in 2019 and has been routinely snapping up exclusive deals with lithium suppliers. It expects demand for its products to increase significantly over the next couple of years as EV charging infrastructure expands significantly and EV take-up increases every year.
Similar investments are being make in the USA by other major car manufacturers, including GM and Ford. GM is spending $7 billion in Michigan alone, part of which is going towards a $2.4 billion battery and EV facility outside Lansing, while Ford has put up a whopping $29 billion towards its electrification and autonomous technology commitments.
Now, if only we can get similar private investment in South Africa to make owning an electric vehicle plausible.
