A First Look Inside Panasonic's Battery Plant in Kansas

In July 2022, Panasonic announced it would build a new lithium-ion battery plant in DeSoto, Kansas, a small town located right off a major highway. The plant is being built for the rapidly growing electric vehicle market. It's estimated the project will bring 4,000 permanent jobs to the state, and according to Kansas Department of Commerce officials, it is the most significant economic development project in state history.

Panasonic formally broke ground for its new $4 billion, 4,000-employee factory in Kansas in a private ceremony in November 2022.

On a recent ASSEMBLY Audible podcast episode, Multimedia Editor Jennifer Pierce interviewed Allan Swan, President of Panasonic Energy North America, who leads the largest battery factory in the world at Panasonic and Tesla's joint Gigafactory in Sparks, Nevada.

To begin with, Swan introduced us to Panasonic's long history in battery manufacturing and how success in that arena and demand led to honing in on the new location in Kansas to expand its production capabilities. Further, during our interview, we get a firsthand inside perspective on why they chose Kansas as their site location, how the plant will be different from the Gigafactory, and when Panasonic will start hiring leaders and assemblers.

Most recently, in December, 2022, Panasonic announced it entered into multiyear agreements to supply batteries for Lucid's award-winning luxury electric vehicle, Lucid Air. On-site construction is currently underway.

For an in-depth expert account on Panasonic's battery technology and how that will factor into the new plant in Kansas, check out About Panasonic's Battery Technology:

Listen to the entire conversation on ASSEMBLY Audible: https://www.assemblymag.com/media/podcasts/6446-assembly-audible/play/191-inside-panasonic-s-battery-plant-in-kansas. And stay tuned throughout 2023 as we keep you up to date on the latest from the Kansas battery plant.

Inside Panasonic's Battery Plant in Kansas

For access to more podcast episodes, click here.

The ASSEMBLY Show South

ASSEMBLY is thrilled to return to the Music City Center in Nashville, TN for The ASSEMBLY Show SOUTH on May 1-2, 2024. This is a booming time for manufacturing and the U.S. South is right in the heart of the action. According to ASSEMBLY’s most recent annual capital spending survey, the South is projected to account for 31 percent of total spending this year, marking the fifth straight year this region has accounted for at least 30 percent of capital spending in the U.S.

In this session, manufacturers will learn how Quality function deployment (QFD) can transform consumers’ qualitative demands into quantitative parameters that will shape the design of their product and, ultimately, their manufacturing process.

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