Panasonic investing in EV batteries

Panasonic intends investing 600 billion yen (NZ$7 billion) in areas such as automotive batteries and supply chain software.

The Japan-based company will invest 400 billion yen (NZ$4.7b) in “growth areas” like EV battery cells, and another 200b yen (NZ$2.36b) in “technology pillars” such as hydrogen energy over three years through the 2024 financial year, Bloomberg reports.

Panasonic wants to have a 4680-battery factory producing in either Oklahoma or Kansas near Tesla’s Gigafactory Texas to supply Tesla and possibly other automotive manufacturers, according to various media suggestions.

A battery facility is also being built at Panasonic’s Wakayama factory in western Japan.

Panasonic aims to start higher capacity battery production by March 2024, some reports say, adding the 4680-cells could increase an EV’s range by 15%.