From PC Mag: This year has been a rough one for electric cars, mostly with the federal tax credit going away soon, but the announcement of two major battery plants from Panasonic and General Motors are bright spots that bode well for the future of the industry.
Panasonic, a major Tesla supplier, opened one of the largest plants in the US this week. The Kansas site spans over 225 football fields and will focus on mass producing high-range 2170 cells. (The name "2170" refers to the battery's dimensions.) These are the cells in the high-tech Lucid Gravity, a 7-seat electric SUV with up to a 450-mile range.
Boosting domestic production of high-capacity cells could increase supply and, in turn, lower prices for automakers, who largely source these types of batteries abroad today. China dominates the global battery supply, and its trade tensions with the US put the EV industry on shaky ground.
Panasonic's plant does not specifically target low-cost battery production, but a new plant from General Motors (GM) does. The Detroit automaker is expanding its Tennessee plant to mass produce lithium iron phosphate (LFP) battery cells. These packs tend to have a lower energy density than nickel cobalt manganese (NCM) cells, though their attractive cost could boost EV adoption and suffice for many shoppers. Tesla, Rivian, Ford, and others currently offer LFP cells in several models, especially the entry-level trims.
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