Panasonic's De Soto plant will shift to start making AI data center batteries

Panasonic to shift some Kansas production lines to make AI data center batteries

Yuki Kusumi, CEO of Panasonic Holdings Corp., shown here at the grand opening of the De Soto, Kansas, electric vehicle plant, said in a June investor call that the company will invest nearly $3 billion to shift toward supporting artificial intelligence and data center devices, infrastructure and services. (Photo by Morgan Chilson/Kansas Reflector)TOPEKA — Panasonic’s Kansas electric vehicle battery plant will convert part of its operations to bu…

Panasonic's De Soto plant will shift to start making AI data center batteries

Panasonic opened its 4.7 million-square foot plant in Kansas in July, but has not reached full capacity after the Trump administration dropped support for green energy and electric vehicles. Now, the company is trying to capitalize on rising demand for data centers.

Why Panasonic, CATL, and China's Battery Giants Are Racing into AI Data Center (AIDC) Energy Storage

Artificial intelligence (AI) is driving new growth in the global battery industry. For years, electric vehicles (EVs) fueled battery demand. Now, AI data centers are the next multi-billion-dollar opportunity. The fast growth of generative AI has led to a rush in building AI data centers in the U.S., Europe, and Asia. These centers require significant electricity to train and operate large AI models such as ChatGPT, Gemini, etc. As electricity de…

Kansas plant expands into AI batteries - The Iola Register

Panasonic will convert part of its De Soto plant to produce batteries for data centers, company officials said. TOPEKA — Panasonic’s Kansas electric vehicle battery plant will convert part of its operations to build batteries for data centers, company officials said. Panasonic leaders announced the company’s shift to focus on developing devices and infrastructure equipment for artificial intelligence uses and data centers at a June 8 investors d…

Panasonic to expand battery module manufacturing in response to surging data center demand

Has allocated more than $2bn for AI data center energy storage investment through 2028