Panasonic Energy selected a joint venture team of Turner Construction Company and Yates Construction to build its $4 billion EV battery manufacturing facility in De Soto, Kansas, according to a company press release.
Construction plans include the assembly facility, a central utility plant and support buildings. Panasonic expects to begin production by the end of March 2025, according to the release.
The win shows the focus on the sector by major contractors, as the U.S. continues its push toward onshoring manufacturing to compete in the global economy. For example, Turner Construction also landed a $1 billion design-build contract to build Ascend Elements’ electric vehicle battery recycling facility in Hopkinsville, Kentucky, as well as another $4.4 billion Honda and LG Energy Solution EV battery factory in Fayette County, Ohio.
“It is exciting to add this EV battery plant to our growing portfolio of work in this market,” said Karen Hogan, vice president and general manager at Turner Construction. “More importantly, thousands of people from the greater Kansas City area will participate in building a project that has global impact and provides people in our community green economy jobs.”
The manufacturing plant forms a critical part of Panasonic’s investment in the U.S. to expand EV battery production capacity, according to the company. The factory aims to reduce the company’s CO2 emission to virtually net-zero by 2030 and will contribute to 300 million tons in avoided emissions by 2050.
Panasonic continues to invest in battery production amid a rise of electric vehicle sales, largely driven by its top customer Tesla. Electric vehicle sales grew approximately 36% in 2022, according to S&P Global Mobility estimates.
Other recent EV battery facility projects include:
- $3.5 billion Ford EV battery plant in Marshall, Michigan.
- $3.5 billion Redwood Materials battery materials facility in Charleston, South Carolina.
- $3.2 billion LG Chem EV battery manufacturing facility in Clarksville, Tennessee.
- $1 billion Ascend Elements EV battery recycling facility in Hopkinsville, Kentucky.
- $810 million large-scale battery cell production facility in northeast South Carolina.
