As a former global leader in power batteries, Panasonic has adopted a series of relatively conservative strategies in the past few years, including reducing technical production lines and reducing expenses. Recently, Panasonic announced that it would abandon its plan to set up a battery plant in Oklahoma, USA, a decision that has once again attracted the attention of the industry.
Abandonment of the construction of a battery plant in Oklahoma
In April, Panasonic announced that it was considering building a new battery plant in Oklahoma. Now Panasonic has canceled this expansion plan. On December 20, according to Nikkei, Panasonic announced that it would abandon plans to set up a battery factory in Oklahoma, USA. Panasonic said the decision would not affect the operations of its Nevada or Kansas plants.
Panasonic's main battery production capacity is distributed in the United States, Japan, and China. Among them, the Nevada plant, a joint venture with Tesla, has a production capacity of 39GWh and plans to increase production by 10% by March 2026The production capacity of the plant in Japan is 10GWhThe Dalian plant in China, which has a production capacity of 5 GWh, plans to expand production to 20 GWh.
Panasonic's abandonment of building a battery factory in the United States is actually traceable.
On October 30 this year, Panasonic announced that the company's battery production in Japan decreased by 60% month-on-month in the second fiscal quarter, and lowered the profit forecast for the energy division by 15% for the current fiscal year (April 2023 to March 2024). At the same time, Chief Financial Officer Hirokazu Umeda said that the company is actively optimizing inventory while shutting down some production lines rather than stopping production completely.
Panasonic's cancellation of the Oklahoma plant construction plan may be related to the slowdown in downstream demand. In downgrading its profit for the current fiscal year, Panasonic pointed out that demand for Tesla models in the North American market is also slowing down mainly because of lower-than-expected electric vehicle sales of major customer Tesla. Panasonic's power battery business has a close relationship with Tesla, so it has been greatly affected.
As a result of this decision, expansion plans for plants in Nevada and Dalian may also be affected.
Accelerate the development of all-solid-state batteries
Although Panasonic has suspended its expansion plans, it is still accelerating the development of new batteries.
According to Nikkei, Panasonic has disclosed for the first time the all-solid-state battery it is developing. The battery can be charged from 10% to 80% in just 3 minutes, with a cycle life of about 1-100,000 cycles. While Panasonic has yet to identify specific application areas, it has envisioned a number of potential uses and sees drones as one of the most promising applications.
Compared with traditional lithium batteries, all-solid-state batteries have higher energy density and faster charging and discharging speeds. The all-solid-state battery completes the charging process in a matter of minutes. In addition, by replacing liquid electrolytes with solid electrolytes, all-solid-state batteries avoid safety hazards such as leakage and maintain high capacity retention in high-temperature environments.
All-solid-state batteries use three solid-state electrolytes: polymers, oxides, and sulfides. The sulfide electrolyte has the highest ionic conductivity of about 10-4 to 10-2s cm, which is close to the liquid level. In addition, the sulfide solid electrolyte has a wide electrochemical stabilization window of up to 5 V, making it suitable for high-voltage electrodes. Therefore, Panasonic opted for sulfide electrolytes.
It is reported that Panasonic is testing all-solid-state battery technology by using a small drone provided by a drone company for experiments. In the future, Panasonic plans to cooperate with other drone manufacturers to jointly promote the development of all-solid-state batteries.
Summary
Overall, Panasonic's strategic adjustment of canceling the construction of factories in the United States shows sensitivity and flexibility to market changes. The decision may have been influenced by Tesla's weaker-than-expected sales and declining demand in North America, but Panasonic's swift response and flexible adjustment of its development direction based on the actual situation will help it remain competitive in an uncertain market environment.
Despite the cancellation of certain expansion plans, Panasonic has not stood still, but has accelerated the research and development of new technologies such as solid-state batteries. This shows that Panasonic is not only focusing on the current market, but also actively seeking future innovation opportunities. Through this strategic adjustment, the company has demonstrated a forward-looking vision for solid-state batteries, which is expected to occupy a favorable position in the future technological competition.
*: TrendForce Lithium.