Panasonic Energy De Soto Battery Plant

Panasonic Energy’s De Soto plant is one of the largest electric-vehicle battery factories in the United States, a roughly $4 billion bet on domestic cell production planted on about 300 acres southwest of Kansas City. The Japanese manufacturer broke ground in late 2022 and held its grand opening in July 2025, with mass production of 2170 lithium-ion cells ramping through early 2026.

Project Scope

The factory is built to reach roughly 32 GWh of annual capacity, enough cells to supply hundreds of thousands of EVs a year. Panasonic produces its cylindrical 2170 cell here, the format that has powered much of the U.S. EV fleet, and the company has said the Kansas site will push its North American capacity toward about 73 GWh once it’s running flat out.

This is a phased build. As of early 2026 the plant was approaching half its planned output, and construction had already started on a second wing, with two of that wing’s four production lines slated to come online in 2027. The site is expected to create up to 4,000 direct jobs and roughly 8,000 across suppliers and related industries, a workforce that reshaped the labor market across the Kansas City metro.

Why It Matters

De Soto is a test of whether the U.S. can stand up battery manufacturing at a scale and speed that matches Asia’s incumbents. The plant anchors a domestic supply chain that automakers have spent years trying to localize, and its output is tied to customers ranging from established EV makers to newer entrants chasing robotaxi and premium programs. Demand signals have shifted since groundbreaking, and Panasonic has adjusted its ramp accordingly, a reminder that even anchor gigafactories track the EV market’s real-world ups and downs.

For the region, the project converted a former ammunition-plant site into advanced-manufacturing acreage and pulled a web of suppliers into its orbit. It joins a wave of U.S. battery and EV plants reshaping the industrial map, alongside listings like Toyota’s North Carolina battery campus. The next two years, as the second wing fills out, will show how high the line can really run.

Reference: Panasonic Energy.

Project Team & Details