Key facts
- Panasonic Holdings will start mass production of battery cells for data centre applications at a plant in Kansas by fiscal year 2028.
- The company will allocate 350 billion yen of its 500 billion yen AI infrastructure investment to its Energy unit for this initiative.
- Panasonic Energy plans a third plant in Mexico with mass production set for fiscal year 2027.
- Panasonic aims for at least 950 billion yen in sales from data centre energy storage systems in fiscal year 2028.
Panasonic Holdings plans to begin mass production of battery cells for data centre applications in the U.S. state of Kansas by fiscal year 2028, which ends in March 2029. This move is driven by the surging demand for AI infrastructure and the expansion of computing capacity by technology companies.
The company will allocate approximately 350 billion yen of its previously announced 500 billion yen investment in AI infrastructure over fiscal years 2026-2028 to its Energy unit, which also supplies Tesla. An additional 150 billion yen will be directed to its Industry segment.
Panasonic Energy is also constructing a third plant in Mexico, with mass production scheduled to commence in fiscal year 2027. This expansion into data centre batteries represents a strategic shift to capitalize on the global AI boom and reduce reliance on the cyclical electric vehicle market, where the company has faced challenges.
Panasonic Energy CEO Kazuo Tadanobu stated that the unit's sales target of 950 billion yen for data centre-related energy storage systems in fiscal year 2028 is a "minimum commitment," with ambitions to exceed 1 trillion yen in annual revenue. The company has already begun supplying battery products for data centre applications in Japan and is now preparing to localize production in the United States.