Panasonic Energy has opened a battery factory in De Soto, near Kansas City, which is designed to produce 2170-type cells for cylindrical lithium-ion batteries and is intended to reach an annual capacity of 32 gigawatt-hours. Combined with the existing Nevada site, which began operations in 2017 with a capacity of around 41 GWh, this would increase the company’s total output in the US to approximately 73 GWh. The manufacturer has not disclosed when the new plant is expected to reach full capacity.
20 percent more productive through automation
Panasonic claims that by using automated production lines, approximately 20 percent higher productivity than at its Nevada site can be expected. The company also plans to use materials which are projected to increase cell capacity by about five percent. According to Panasonic, the lithium-ion cells currently in production have a volumetric energy density of 800 watt-hours per liter.
