Record-Breaking Panasonic Investment: World’s Largest Battery Factory Now Operational

In De Soto, Kansas, Panasonic has launched the world’s largest electric vehicle battery factory.
The complex covers nearly 50 hectares — the equivalent of 225 football fields — and its construction cost $4 billion. According to experts, this could be a turning point in America’s energy transition.

Production line to shorten supply chains
Producing batteries in the U.S. means shorter supply chains and the potential to lower electric vehicle prices. Moreover, storing energy in batteries will make it easier to harness renewable energy sources, reducing dependence on fossil fuels and lowering energy costs for consumers.

This is Panasonic’s second plant in the U.S. — the first was built on the Tesla Gigafactory campus in Nevada. The new investment is the largest economic project in Kansas’s history and will create about 4,000 jobs in the factory itself, plus another 8,000 in related industries.

Client diversification and optimism for the future
Although global demand for electric cars has slightly declined — Tesla recorded 13% fewer deliveries in the second quarter of 2025 — Panasonic plans to expand its customer base. It already works with Lucid and Mazda. The investment was also driven by U.S. subsidies from the Inflation Reduction Act and trade tensions with China.

“When we commit to something, we are fully engaged, and we want to make sure we support all our customers,” emphasized Megan Myungwon Lee, head of Panasonic operations in North America. “We are not experiencing a slowdown and we look to the future with optimism,” she added.

Full production to start later this year
The Kansas plant is already being called one of the key elements of the U.S. energy transition strategy. Full production will start in 2025, and its scale could significantly strengthen Panasonic’s position in the global EV battery market.

Source: Panasonic Energy