Panasonic EV battery plant deal for Oklahoma still up in the air

Nearly six months after Pansonic Holdings Corporation reportedly stated it considered  construction of a new battery factory in Oklahoma, there has been no public movement or discussion on the topic.

Kyodo News reported in April of this year that Panasonic, the company that chose Kansas for the site of a $4 billion battery plant following intense competition with Oklahoma, put Oklahoma back into consideration for another battery plant. The Kansas project is well underway and recently it was revealed the plant will need so much electrical power, that a coal-fired unit near Lawrence, Kansas was going to be extended to supply the electricity.

Kyodo reported in April that Pansonic and the Oklahoma state government had concluded a contract “stipulating the terms on which the electronics company would become eligible for a subsidiy if it built a plant.

“It is true we have concluded a contract, but no other details have been decided yet,” a Panasonic official told the news agency

So what’s happened since?

“At this time, there are no new updates,” according to Becky Samples, Director of Marketing and Communications at the Oklahoma Commerce Department. She replied to an inquiry by OK Energy Today.

If Panasonic reaches a decision to build an Oklahoma plant, it would be the third EV battery plant to be located in the U.S. by the Japanese manufacturer. The company is a major supplier to Tesla Inc. and already has battery plants open or under construction in Nevada and Kansas.