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Panasonic said Wednesday it plans to build the world’s largest EV battery plant, a $4 billion factory in Kansas that will manufacture and supply lithium-ion batteries to EV makers.
The factory is slated to be larger than the Gigafactory it operates with Tesla in Sparks, Nevada, which is already one of the largest lithium-ion battery factories in the world.
The electronics supplier also aims to begin producing a high-capacity battery for Tesla in early 2024. Those batteries are expected to increase energy capacity fivefold, which could boost range by more than 15% and cut production costs.
Panasonic said its advanced battery technology will improve EV range and that scaling its operations will lower the cost to produce EVs.
“With the increased electrification of the automotive market, expanding battery production in the U.S. is critical to help meet demand,” Kazuo Tadanobu, president and CEO of Panasonic Energy, said in a statement.
The deal represents the largest economic development project in Kansas’s history. Located in the Kansas City region, the facility will create up to 4,000 new jobs and about $4 billion in capital investment.
This story is developing.
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