Panasonic could launch upgraded EV battery by this year

Panasonic could launch upgraded electric vehicle (EV) battery cells with improved capacity as early as this year, says a company official.

The latest information is coming from Soichiro Watanabe, Chief Technology Officier of Panasonic Energy Co., at the company’s headquarters in Moriguchi, Osaka Prefecture in an interview with Bloomberg on Thursday, January 11.

The company is aiming to produce a new version of 2170 cells at its factory in Nevada somewhere in 2024 or the following year. This new move is also in line with the recent efforts to boost the energy density of the 2170 cell, which could also reduce the cost of an EV.

Panasonic also has plans to expand production in North America and also develop a new and thicker battery called the 4680 cells.

Meanwhile, the company is not looking for immediate expansion in production facilities or further investment according to Watanabe.

Furthermore, the decision on the production of next-gen EV batteries at the Nevada plant will be made alongside Tesla, confirms the Panasonic CTO.

Panasonic Energy’s facility in Sparks, Nevada, is now one of the world’s largest lithium-ion battery factories, surpassing six billion EV battery cells shipped.

However, the Japanese firm is now building a new factory in Kansas which will focus on 2170 cylindrical lithium batteries to cope with the growing demand in the EV industry.

Panasonic is looking to begin mass production in Kansas by March 2025. Once completed the facility is likely to output a total annual capacity of 30 GWh to supply EV manufacturers around the U.S.