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Released January 18, 2024 | SUGAR LAND
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Researched by Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--Panasonic Holdings Corporation (Osaka, Japan) plans to begin production at its new electric vehicle (EV) battery-manufacturing plant under construction in De Soto, Kansas, in early 2025, company executives told a state House energy committee on Tuesday.
The $4 billion brownfield plant is being built on the site of the former Sunflower Army Ammunition Plant. Construction broke ground in July 2022, and when complete, the plant will feature a production capacity of 30 gigawatt-hours (GWh) per year to be used exclusively by Tesla Incorporated (NASDAQ:TSLA) (Austin, Texas). According to a presentation document supporting Panasonic's testimony with the Kansas House Energy, Utilities and Telecommunications Committee, the installation of steel framing at one wing of the two-wing plant is 93% complete and framing for the other wing is 44% complete.
Turner Construction Company (New York, New York) and W. G. Yates & Sons Construction Company (Philadelphia, Mississippi) are providing joint general contracting (G/C) services for the brownfield project.
Subscribers to the Global Market Intelligence (GMI) Industrial Manufacturing Project Database can click here to read a detailed project report.
Also underway is construction of a nearby warehouse and distribution center, which is expected to wrap up in July, to increase the storage capacity for Panasonic's EV batteries. Click here for the project report.
Panasonic has entered an agreement with Redwood Materials Incorporated (Carson City, Nevada) to purchase recycled cathode active materials to be used in the batteries produced at the De Soto plant. Redwood Materials recently raised more than $1 billion to expand its U.S. operations; for more information, see August 31, 2023, article - U.S. Battery Recycling and Materials Company Redwood Materials Raises $1 Billion.
Panasonic also told the committee it continues to negotiate with Evergy Incorporated (NASDAQ:EVRG) (Topeka, Kansas) to supply power to the De Soto plant. However, according to reporting from the Kansas Reflector, Kansas state Representative John Carmichael (D) said that would require building substations and miles of transmission lines--the cost of which would be paid by Evergy consumers.
According to the Kansas Reflector, Tina Jeffress, a Panasonic group manager for sustainability and energy, tried to ease that concern, testifying, "We know that bringing our load onto the grid does come with some concerns from various stakeholders ... We are committed to paying for any energy infrastructure that is dedicated and serving our site. We have reiterated that commitment time and time again that we will pay for infrastructure that is directly serving our facility."
"We do not anticipate any issues when it comes to ultimate market demand for our product," Jeffress added. "This is a generational investment in Kansas and as you can see from how quickly we are putting steel in the ground and developing other infrastructure on site, we are full speed ahead when it comes to this project."
The projects for the De Soto plant make up nearly all of the under-construction Industrial Manufacturing Industry project activity in Kansas.
The only other project with a total investment value (TIV) of more than $100 million is Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company's (NASDAQ:GT) (Akron, Ohio) $125 million modernization of its tire and inner tubes manufacturing plant in Topeka. The project entails modernizing operations and production lines, plus installing supporting equipment and systems to maximize operational efficiency at the 2.28 million-square-foot plant. Completion is expected in March. Subscribers can click here to read the project report.
Subscribers to the Industrial Manufacturing GMI Database can click here for the reports on all of the projects discussed in this article and here for the plant profiles.
Industrial Info Resources (IIR) is the leading provider of industrial market intelligence. Since 1983, IIR has provided comprehensive research, news and analysis on the industrial process, manufacturing and energy related industries. IIR's Global Market Intelligence (GMI) helps companies identify and pursue trends across multiple markets with access to real, qualified and validated plant and project opportunities. Across the world, IIR is tracking over 200,000 current and future projects worth $17.8 Trillion (USD).
The $4 billion brownfield plant is being built on the site of the former Sunflower Army Ammunition Plant. Construction broke ground in July 2022, and when complete, the plant will feature a production capacity of 30 gigawatt-hours (GWh) per year to be used exclusively by Tesla Incorporated (NASDAQ:TSLA) (Austin, Texas). According to a presentation document supporting Panasonic's testimony with the Kansas House Energy, Utilities and Telecommunications Committee, the installation of steel framing at one wing of the two-wing plant is 93% complete and framing for the other wing is 44% complete.
Turner Construction Company (New York, New York) and W. G. Yates & Sons Construction Company (Philadelphia, Mississippi) are providing joint general contracting (G/C) services for the brownfield project.
Subscribers to the Global Market Intelligence (GMI) Industrial Manufacturing Project Database can click here to read a detailed project report.
Also underway is construction of a nearby warehouse and distribution center, which is expected to wrap up in July, to increase the storage capacity for Panasonic's EV batteries. Click here for the project report.
Panasonic has entered an agreement with Redwood Materials Incorporated (Carson City, Nevada) to purchase recycled cathode active materials to be used in the batteries produced at the De Soto plant. Redwood Materials recently raised more than $1 billion to expand its U.S. operations; for more information, see August 31, 2023, article - U.S. Battery Recycling and Materials Company Redwood Materials Raises $1 Billion.
Panasonic also told the committee it continues to negotiate with Evergy Incorporated (NASDAQ:EVRG) (Topeka, Kansas) to supply power to the De Soto plant. However, according to reporting from the Kansas Reflector, Kansas state Representative John Carmichael (D) said that would require building substations and miles of transmission lines--the cost of which would be paid by Evergy consumers.
According to the Kansas Reflector, Tina Jeffress, a Panasonic group manager for sustainability and energy, tried to ease that concern, testifying, "We know that bringing our load onto the grid does come with some concerns from various stakeholders ... We are committed to paying for any energy infrastructure that is dedicated and serving our site. We have reiterated that commitment time and time again that we will pay for infrastructure that is directly serving our facility."
"We do not anticipate any issues when it comes to ultimate market demand for our product," Jeffress added. "This is a generational investment in Kansas and as you can see from how quickly we are putting steel in the ground and developing other infrastructure on site, we are full speed ahead when it comes to this project."
The projects for the De Soto plant make up nearly all of the under-construction Industrial Manufacturing Industry project activity in Kansas.
The only other project with a total investment value (TIV) of more than $100 million is Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company's (NASDAQ:GT) (Akron, Ohio) $125 million modernization of its tire and inner tubes manufacturing plant in Topeka. The project entails modernizing operations and production lines, plus installing supporting equipment and systems to maximize operational efficiency at the 2.28 million-square-foot plant. Completion is expected in March. Subscribers can click here to read the project report.
Subscribers to the Industrial Manufacturing GMI Database can click here for the reports on all of the projects discussed in this article and here for the plant profiles.
Industrial Info Resources (IIR) is the leading provider of industrial market intelligence. Since 1983, IIR has provided comprehensive research, news and analysis on the industrial process, manufacturing and energy related industries. IIR's Global Market Intelligence (GMI) helps companies identify and pursue trends across multiple markets with access to real, qualified and validated plant and project opportunities. Across the world, IIR is tracking over 200,000 current and future projects worth $17.8 Trillion (USD).