Kansas Governor Laura Kelly and Lieutenant Governor and Secretary of Commerce David Toland, along with many federal and state dignitaries, celebrated today with Panasonic Energy for the grand opening of the largest electric vehicle (EV) battery manufacturing plant in the United States.
Panasonic is investing $4 billion, and has already hired approximately 1,000 employees at the De Soto plant; De Soto is located in the northeast part of Kansas, between Overland Park and Lawrence.
“Panasonic’s state-of-the-art EV battery plant marks a bright new era in Kansas,” Gov. Kelly said. “The monumental effort that has gone into every aspect of this project has culminated in this historic day as the plant begins mass production of EV batteries. It’s hard to overstate what Panasonic’s investment means to Kansas and the value of the partnership that made it possible.”
The De Soto plant is the largest economic development project in Kansas history — and in company history. An estimated $2.5 billion in new economic activity in Kansas will be generated annually by the project.
“The opening of our Kansas factory marks a major milestone in our journey to scale advanced battery production in the United States,” Panasonic Energy CEO Kazuo Tadanobu said. “This achievement would not have been possible without the strong support of our local partners and the State of Kansas. Together, we are accelerating the shift to electrification, reinforcing regional supply chains, and nurturing the next generation of battery talent. This facility represents not only our commitment to the region but also a foundation for long-term collaboration and innovation in the U.S.”
The project is expected to create up to 4,000 new jobs and significantly boost the regional and state economy, supporting an estimated 4,000 additional jobs created by suppliers and community businesses and 16,500 construction jobs, as cited in an independent Wichita State University economic impact study.
“Kansas leaders did the equivalent of kicking down doors and leaping over tall buildings to win this $4 billion investment by Panasonic,” Lieutenant Governor and Secretary of Commerce David Toland said. “This is a once-in-a-generation move that will power our economy, support thousands of Kansas families and spark opportunity for decades to come. It’s bold. It’s historic. And all Kansans can feel pride today in seeing that our state can do big things again, and that our best days are ahead of us.”
The 300-acre manufacturing plant, which is opening almost three years to the date of the initial announcement, is located in De Soto’s Astra Enterprise Park. The state-of-the-art facility will operate and produce approximately 66 lithium-ion batteries per second. Its infrastructure is broken into two wings, with four battery lines on each wing. At the end of both wings, infrastructure is designed for shipping, packing, and sub-supply vendor spaces for Panasonic partners.
Gov. Kelly on Monday proclaimed Panasonic Day across the State of Kansas.
Panasonic delayed full production at the plant because of dropping electric car sales and U.S. policies that do not support electric cars, international media reports.
There have been decreased electric car sales at Tesla, and skepticism from President Donald Trump about encouraging electric vehicle adoption, according to the Nikkei Asia news outlet.
In 2023, Evergy planned to ask for a rate increase in Kansas to help pay for the additional infrastructure required to meet the Panasonic battery plant’s massive anticipated demand for electricity. Also in '23, it was anticipated the factory would need so much energy that the state delayed the retirement of a coal plant near Lawrence to make sure the facility had enough power.
Evergy continues to burn coal at a power plant near Lawrence until at least 2028, delaying plans to transition units at the plant to natural gas.