Panasonic Energy, a Panasonic Group Company, has signed a long-term agreement with H&T Recharge, a battery component manufacturer, for the supply of lithium-ion battery cans in North America with the aim of expanding its production of safe EV batteries.
Panasonic Energy and H&T have collaborated since 2017, with H&T supplying approximately 40 GWh of battery can capacity annually to Panasonic Energy’s Nevada facility.
The new agreement will extend H&T’s supply to Panasonic Energy’s Kansas facility, which is scheduled to begin operations by March 2025. H&T plans to further enhance productivity and quality by implementing new production lines that will allow them to supply battery cans with an anticipated annual capacity of approximately 30 GWh to the Kansas facility.
To meet the growing global demand for EVs, Panasonic Energy is expanding the production of EV batteries and improving their performance, durability, and driving range. To ensure safety, the company’s lithium-ion batteries are designed and manufactured using components optimized for the entire cell, including the battery cans, to reduce the incidence of issues such as cell rupture and ignition.
Complementing this commitment to safety, H&T possesses in-house deep drawing press and tool design capabilities, as well as several decades of high-volume serial can manufacturing experience. All key processes on the company’s production line concepts in North America are fully automated, ensuring stable and efficient mass production with consistent quality.
Panasonic Energy’s partnership with H&T is part of the company’s strategy to strengthen its supply chains in North America by increasing the level of local procurement of battery components. This will reduce the company’s carbon footprint and its transportation costs as H&T plans to have a facility in Kansas.
Filed Under: Batteries, Technology News