Lithium-ion battery manufacturing facility in De Soto, Kansas to add capacity to the EV battery supply chain in the United States
De Soto, Kan. – A joint venture team of Turner Construction Company and Yates Construction is pleased to announce that they were selected by Panasonic Energy to build a manufacturing facility for electric vehicle batteries in De Soto, Kansas. In addition to the assembly facility, this phase of an overall $4 billion program will include construction of a central utility plant and support buildings.
The battery manufacturing facility is a critical part of Panasonic’s investment in the United States to expand EV battery production capacity. This project creates new jobs with competitive wages and will help drive the economy and manufacturing in the De Soto region, and across Kansas and the United States. It also will support the Panasonic Group’s commitment to reduce global carbon emissions. The factory is a demonstration of the Panasonic Group’s Green IMPACT initiative, which is aimed at reducing the company’s CO2 emission to virtually net-zero by 2030 and contributing to 300 million tons in avoided emissions by 2050.
The plant is expected to begin production by the end of March 2025 and will eventually reach approximately 30 GWh of annual production capacity.
“We are extremely excited to be part of the team delivering this plant to support Panasonic’s goal to meet the growing demand for high quality batteries from their automotive partners,” said Jim Brownrigg, Senior Vice President of Turner Construction Company. Jim continued, “The team shares a common goal for improving environmental performance and are committed to reduce onsite greenhouse gas emissions and water consumption during construction of the facility.
“This is a very exciting project for the Kansas City region and our company,” said William G. Yates III, President & CEO of Yates Construction. “As one of the largest EV battery and advanced manufacturing contractors in the U.S., Yates Construction has extensive experience in this sector. We look forward to working with Panasonic to deliver this important project in support of their long-term commitment to achieving a net-zero emissions future.”
“It is exciting to add this EV battery plant to our growing portfolio of work in this market,” said Karen Hogan, Vice President & General Manager of Turner Construction Company. Karen continued, “More importantly thousands of people from the greater Kansas City area will participate in building a project that has global impact and provide people in our community green economy jobs.”
