One of the largest EV battery factories in North America now sits on the prairie outside Kansas City. Panasonic Energy’s De Soto plant opened in 2025 after a $4 billion build, and it’s the biggest economic development project in Kansas history.
Project Scope
The plant spans roughly 4.7 million square feet on a 300-acre site and is built to reach about 32 GWh of annual lithium-ion cell capacity. It started mass production of 2170 cells in mid-2025 and hit a million cells within months. The factory is designed to employ up to 4,000 workers at full ramp, supplying automakers and, starting in 2026, Amazon-owned Zoox.
Why It Matters
Battery plants are the anchor tenants of the EV supply chain, and where they land reshapes a regional economy. De Soto pulled billions in investment and thousands of jobs to eastern Kansas, and its scale puts it alongside the semiconductor and EV megaplants now defining U.S. industrial construction, including Intel’s Ohio One campus. More from Panasonic Energy.
Project Team & Details
| Developer | Panasonic Energy |
|---|
| Owner / Client | Panasonic Energy of North America |
|---|
| Status | Completed |
|---|
| Delivery Method | Design-Build |
|---|
| Funding Source | Private |
|---|
