Panasonic plans to localize U.S. supply chain for energy storage systems as the company prepares to manufacture battery cells at a Kansas plant in a push to supply data centres, the Japanese group’s CEO said on July 30, 2026.
According to Yuki Kusumi during a roundtable interview in Tokyo, “Since most of our customers are in the U.S. for these energy storage systems, we think it makes sense to complete the supply chain as much as possible within the U.S.”
Panasonic confirmed in June 2026 that it plans to start large-scale manufacturing of battery cells for data centres at its energy unit’s Kansas plant, which also makes batteries for Tesla. The setup is anticipated in the financial year ending March 2029.
Now, carmakers and battery companies are faced with a lackluster market for electric vehicles in the U.S. and are competing to convert battery factories to build energy-storage systems so as to power the thirst of AI for power instead.
In its bid to localize U.S. supply chain, Panasonic has no plans to make lithium iron phosphate – LFP batteries, which are not as well suited to the focus of the company on distributed systems that help manage peak power demand across individual servers and more suited to large, centralized backup applications, Kusumi added.
It is well to be noted that LFP batteries are widely utilized in energy storage systems due to their lower cost in comparison to the nickel-heavy chemistry usually utilized in EV batteries within North America.
Although relations between Beijing and Tokyo are strained, Kusumi said Panasonic didn’t have any problems getting supplies from China. Panasonic did not appear on a list of 20 Japanese companies China added to a dual-purpose export control this week.
