Cell & Pack Manufacturing

Profiles of C&P Industry Players

Summary: Panasonicʼs Kansas plant reaching production was a major milestone. It materially expanded Panasonicʼs US cell capacity and shifted more production onshore for customers like Tesla and others. Panasonicʼs energy unit showed improved profitability in early 2025, but the company also implemented aggressive cost and organizational reforms to boost returns. Public signaling of ambitions for higher energy density, anode-free cells indicates a rapid timeline to commercialize advanced chemistries.

Notable events:

Lucid begins production using Panasonicʼs 2170 cells (Jan 2025) Panasonic raises earnings outlook for its energy unit and signals group management reforms (Feb 2025) Major corporate restructuring. Panasonic announced global job reductions (May 2025) Mass production begins at Panasonicʼs new automotive battery factory in De Soto, KS (July 2025) Panasonic confirms R&D push, targeting anode-free, high energy density EV batteries in 2 years (Sep 2025)

Top level numbers: Combined with the Panasonic/Tesla gigafactory in Nevada 41 GWh) capacity, the Kansas plant adds another 32 GWh of US cell production capacity to Panasonicʼs portfolio. The company plans to build at least two new factories for 4680 battery production in North America, with the goal of boosting its capacity to 200 GWh by March 2031.

Summary: SK On is expanding in the US market with large loans, multi-GWh supply deals with Nissan & Slate, and ESS contracts. At the same time, it is under pressure from weak demand as a result of the EV slowdown and financial losses. The dissolution of the Ford JV has forced SK to pursue other customers and segments. Notable events:

DOE finalized $9.63bn loan to BlueOval SK to support construction of 3 battery plants in TN and KY, intended to produce 120 GWh of batteries (Dec 2024) SK On announces supply agreement with Nissan for 100 Gwh of batteries from 20282033 (Mar 2025) Slate Auto selects SK On as supplier of approximately 20 GWh of batteries from 20262031 (Apr 2025) SK On rose to the #3 global EV battery supplier, excluding Chinese firms (May 2025) Announcement of ESS deal with Flatiron Energy Development to supply 7.2 GWh of batteries from 20262030 (Sep 2025) SK On and Ford Motor Company to end US battery joint venture with a Ford subsidiary taking ownership of the KY plant and SK On assuming ownership of the TN plant (December 2025)

Top level numbers: In addition to the two plants SK On currently runs in the US, they plan to build additional factories with partners and independently. Once fully operational, SK Onʼs US production capacity is slated to exceed 180 GWh.

Companies are generally shifting their focus from EVs to a broader portfolio that includes energy storage. Source: Company announcements

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