Panasonic to revamp its EV battery cells this year
Japan's Panasonic Corp has confirmed that it will begin production of its upgraded 2170 EV cells in Nevada sometime during 2024 or 2025.
The firm had previously pledged to to quadruple production capacity by 2030 fiscal year, and also improve the efficiency of its batteries to one day provide 200 gigawatt hours of energy. As such, it has been working to boost the energy density of the 2170 cell and also developing another battery that’s thicker and more voluminous, called the 4680 cell. Panasonic is currently exploring the best options for production of these next-generation EV batteries at its Nevada plant, a joint venture with Tesla.
One way to achieve high energy density is improving the chemical composition of the active materials (the materials that store electricity) in the cathode and anode so that more electricity can be stored. Another is increasing the amount of active material within the limited space of each battery. Panasonic is investigating both areas.
Panasonic's CTO Shoichiro Watanabe said in an interview with Bloomberg that the firm is currently building a battery plant in Kansas — its second in North America — and will reveal the location of a third by the end of this fiscal year.
The Biden administration offers multiple subsidies for companies to make battery cells made in the US via its Inflation Reduction Act.
