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Battery maker Panasonic will be a partner in the Liberty, North
Carolina, plant through its Prime Planet Energy & Solutions (PPES)
joint venture with Toyota, according to Norm Bafunno, senior
vice president of powertrain manufacturing and engineering at
Toyota Motor North America.
The Liberty plant is slated to open in 2025. PPES will provide
expertise in battery making technology and equipment, Bafunno
said in an interview.
Panasonic also has a joint battery making venture with Tesla Inc
in Nevada and recently announced plans to build a $4 billion
plant in Kansas that is expected to supply Tesla and other
automakers.
When Toyota announced the initial $1.29 billion investment last
fall, North Carolina said the state would boost reimbursement to
Toyota by $315 million if the company's investment topped $3
billion.
Toyota now plans to add two production lines dedicated to making
batteries for fully electric vehicles at the Liberty plant, in
addition to the four lines initially planned to make smaller
batteries for hybrid vehicles such as the Toyota Prius, Bafunno
said. He declined to provide the plant's planned production
capacity.
Initially, Bafunno added, the plant will make lithium-ion
batteries using relatively conventional electrode technology - a
mixture of nickel, cobalt and manganese for the cathode and
graphite for the anode. But newer technologies, including solid
state electrolytes, could be introduced over time.
“This technology is going to evolve quickly,” Bafunno said.
The higher investment figure for the Liberty plant follows the
recent passage of the U.S. Inflation Reduction Act, which
provides incentives for manufacturers and tax credits to
consumers aimed at boosting local content in EVs and batteries.
(Reporting by Paul Lienert in Detroit; Editing by Matthew Lewis)
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