Drone tour shows Panasonic’s new EV battery manufacturing plant taking shape near De Soto

Tammy Ljungblad
·1 min read
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It was a little more than a year ago when a handful of state and local officials, along with several company executives, stood at the edge of De Soto to ceremonially break ground on a new multi-billion dollar manufacturing facility for the Japanese company Panasonic.

At that point, earth moving equipment had been leveling ground and digging holes to ready the area for construction. The only sign of progress were big mounds of dirt piled at the site.

The scene is much different now.

Construction continues at Panasonic’s new $4 billion lithium-ion battery manufacturing plant on Tuesday, Jan. 2, 2023, in De Soto Kansas. Panasonic hopes to begin production of the electric vehicle batteries in March 2025. The battery plant is under construction on the site of the former Sunflower Army Ammunition Plant.
Construction continues at Panasonic’s new $4 billion lithium-ion battery manufacturing plant on Tuesday, Jan. 2, 2023, in De Soto Kansas. Panasonic hopes to begin production of the electric vehicle batteries in March 2025. The battery plant is under construction on the site of the former Sunflower Army Ammunition Plant.

A recent drone flight at the edge of the construction site on the grounds of the former Sunflower Army Ammunition Plant revealed the expansive lithium-ion battery manufacturing facility being built there. Panasonic officials say the building, when complete, will have a footprint of around 3.1 million square feet with floor space of about 4.7 million square feet. That’s more than 100 acres of floor space.

Plans call for the $4 billion plant to be in operation producing batteries for electric vehicles by March 2025.

Watch the video to see the progress on the plant.