2024 Top 400 Sourcebook: EV Battery Plant Nears Production Start | Columbus Ohio Dump Trucks
Manufacturing
Turner and Yates are building Panasonic Energy's $4-billion Kansas facility
Panasonic plans to begin production in the electric vehicle battery plant's first wing while construction wraps up on the second wing.
Photo courtesy Panasonic Energy Co.
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Panasonic Energy Co.’s $4-billion electric vehicle battery plant in De Soto, Kan., is taking shape with the aim of beginning production early next year.
Work at the 300-acre site, which was formerly home to a U.S. Army ammunition plant, started in November 2022. Vertical construction led by a joint venture of Turner Construction Co. (No. 7 in manufacturing) and The Yates Co. Inc. (No. 4) began in April 2023.
Once complete, the 4.7-million-sq-ft plant designed by SSOE Group with architect Mackenzie Inc. would have a 30-GWh capacity to make batteries for electric vehicles. Panasonic aims to begin production by the end of March 2025.
33%
The increase in manufacturing construction starts in July.
Source: Dodge Construction Network
The plant is designed with two wings, and construction is slated to complete in phases. Work is expected to continue on the second wing, now 44% finished, as production begins in the first, which is at 99% completion, Panasonic said in its most recent progress update. Roofing for wing one is 43% complete.
The facility would be Panasonic’s second in the U.S. that will produce its 2170 cylindrical lithium-ion batteries. It has another 38-GWh plant producing the batteries in Nevada. Panasonic says locating another plant in the U.S. will help it reduce supply chain-related emissions.
The plant has already helped boost other local projects. Earlier this year, Kansas Gov. Laura Kelly announced battery component manufacturer H&T Recharge is investing $110 million to build a plant in De Soto that will supply the Panasonic plant. The electronics firm also agreed to provide more than $165 million to fund various local infrastructure projects.
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