US facility · EV batteries
Panasonic picks Kansas for a battery plant worth up to $4 billion
- Company
- Panasonic Energy (Osaka)
- Project
- EV battery plant in De Soto, De Soto, Kansas
- Value
- Up to $4B
- Status
- Opened in July 2025; mass production of 2170 cells under way. Panasonic put off reaching full production, which had been expected by March 2027, without setting a new date, citing weaker EV demand and U.S. policy changes.
- Date
- 2022-07-14
Panasonic Energy and Kansas officials announced De Soto, west of Kansas City, as the site of a new EV battery plant. The state put the investment at up to $4 billion and the job count at up to 4,000. Tesla was expected to be the main customer. The state had approved its incentive package, but Panasonic's board had not yet signed off.
Why it matters
It was one of the largest Japanese factory investments in the US at the time and came just as the Inflation Reduction Act was about to reward US-made batteries. It made Panasonic's second US gigafactory a bet on Tesla demand beyond Nevada.
The plan
Panasonic Energy picked De Soto, Kansas, west of Kansas City, in July 2022 for its second US battery plant after its Nevada factory with Tesla. Kansas put the investment at up to $4 billion and the jobs at up to 4,000, and backed it with nearly $830 million in state tax credits under its megaproject program.
Opening and slowdown
The plant opened in July 2025 and makes 2170-size cylindrical cells for EVs. As US EV demand weakened and federal support for EVs was cut back, Panasonic dropped its target of full production by March 2027 without setting a new date. By February 2026 it was near half of capacity, and by June it had about 1,800 workers on four lines, with a second wing under construction.
A new use
In June 2026 Panasonic said it would use part of the plant to make batteries for AI data centers, with the first of those cells expected around 2028 or 2029. That follows the same shift toward storage batteries seen at other Japanese-backed US plants.
Sources
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