Panasonic moves closer to opening massive EV battery plant in De Soto
DE SOTO, Kan. (KCTV) - Since Panasonic broke ground in 2022, it’s been a fast-paced, detailed job for hundreds of workers building the electric vehicle battery plant, but also for those updating infrastructure.
On Thursday, the leaders of Panasonic Energy of North America provided an update on the construction and next steps for the new plant.
Plant construction
“Wing one and wing two. We are completely done with Wing one as far as the infrastructure for the building, it is completely dried in now,” said Panasonic Construction Executive, Jeff van Heel.
The building is 4.7 million square feet and is shaped in a ‘U’.
Since they started construction they’ve poured concrete from 12,000 trucks, placed 85,000 tons of steel, and moved 5 million cubic yards of soil all done by 2,400 construction workers.
They’ve had two weeks’ worth of weather days and have had to take cover twice due to nearby tornado warnings.
“Snows have been somewhat of a delay we always have equipment issues being delayed like shipments like that but every time we have been able to make that up to make that happen,” said van Heel.
Powering the plant
A lot of energy is needed to power the plant.
Evergy installed large steel main transmission lines earlier this year around the plant.
They also built a switch yard by the plant. They plan to power it up in two weeks, but won’t be using it till August.
“All the high voltage comes up through this corridor into these central utility buildings,” said van Heel.
Panasonic does not anticipate any issues for residents when that turns on.
They will be able to provide 290 megawatts with a redundancy of 290 megawatts.
They expect to make 66 batteries a second at this location.
Hiring
They are finished with hiring their leadership team and plan to have 500 employees hired by the end of the year.
Once at full capacity, there will be 4,000 people working there.
However, they do not expect that many people to move to the area all at once.
“It will probably be 80 or 90% of the team will come from the Kansas City metro area,” said Panasonic Energy of North America Human Resources VP, Kristen Walters.
They are planning to start advertising job openings soon and recruiting.
“As far out as Topeka and North KC so we expect people to be commuting from the local area we are also reaching out to other parts of the state where maybe there are opportunities people have been from Kansas City and wanna get back,” said Walters.
They plan to share more on benefits including paid time off, insurance options, volunteer paid time off, and education assistance.
There will most likely be four different shifts for 12 hours at a time.
Pay ranges with starting wages ranging from the 20s to mid-30s per hour depending on the role.
Impact on De Soto
With so many people expected to be driving in and out, the main road to the plant is being expanded with a $60 million transportation project.
“(To) improve access from our interchange at Commerce and K-10 and from Evening Star and K-10,” said De Soto Mayor Rick Walker.
They expect that project to be done at the end of 2024.
With a project of this scale, there is a lot of buzz around how it will affect De Soto. That’s why the city started a weekly emailed newsletter and shares updates at city council meetings.
Mayor Walker understands some of the road work might be a pain, but he said there are benefits for the economy and the community.
“When we are on the other side looking back it is going to be a great view,” said Mayor Walker.
De Soto is already seeing an economic boost thanks to the plant construction and road work.
Mayor Walker said the over 2,000 workers in the area each day are spending their dollars at the local businesses nearby.
He said they’ve seen a 75% year-to-year increase in sales tax revenue.
“Everybody is busy the grocer Harp’s the grocery store, the Casey’s, the McDonald’s,” said Mayor Walker.
The city is also working on lowering the mill levy for homeowners next year, they plan for people to save around $150 a year based on the average De Soto home cost.
They also expect rates to go down in the coming years for water as they are getting a new water treatment plant and doubling the size of the wastewater treatment plant.
Community partnerships with Panasonic
Panasonic is also working with local partners such as the local school district, JCCC, and KCKCC.
They are creating apprenticeship programs for prospective students, but others will benefit from this.
“Smaller businesses will be able to utilize those training courses they will be able to utilize the way we train people and what we do,” said Panasonic Energy of North America President Allan Swan. He added, “We create an environment where you can be what you want to be. I’ve got loads of people in Nevada who come in as a material handler who have gone up four or five levels.”
Plan for old water towers
As for the old water towers near where the abandoned Sunflower Army Ammunition Plant once stood, Panasonic said no plans are currently set in stone to demolish them.
They have received bids on painting them and said only one out of the four can be used due to their old age.
They are staying there for now, but something will happen with the towers in the next decade they expect.
Opening up the plant
They plan to open up the new Panasonic plant in the first quarter of 2025.
They will work up to full capacity over the next few years after that opening date.
KCTV5 anticipates a look inside the new facility a few months after it opens.
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