This story is part of an ongoing series, Powering Change: Panasonic and De Soto. If you'd like to share your excitement or concerns about the electric vehicle battery plant, you can do so here.
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Panasonic's $4 billion battery plant in De Soto is now operational.
The facility, which was showcased during a grand opening celebration Monday, currently has one production line running with three more expected to open this year. The final four production lines are projected to be operational by 2026.
"It'll take about 18 months," Panasonic Energy North America President Allan Swan said when KSHB 41's Elyse Schoenig asked about the timeline for getting all eight production lines running.
Kansas Lt. Gov. David Toland said hiring is still ongoing and still a priority at the De Soto plant.
"1,100 people have already been hired here at the De Soto plant, and they're on track to hire 4,000 when it's at full capacity," Toland said.
When fully operational, the plant will produce 70 battery cells per second, according to Toland.
While touring the facility, KSHB was only allowed to film the building itself. Panasonic provided video footage of the production line for media use.
With electric vehicle tax credits set to expire in September, Schoenig asked Swan about the company's long-term goals.
"It's a brand new industry. So things are gonna go up, gonna go down, gonna move around a little bit," Swan said.
In the face of market uncertainties, Swan said he's confident in the potential for future production opportunities at the Kansas location.
"We'll watch what the market does, but do we have the ability to expand here? Absolutely yes," he said.
Kansas officials welcomed Panasonic with enthusiasm during Monday's event, with Toland even attempting a greeting in Japanese.
"For those who haven't had a Japanese tutor for the last week, I said, 'Osaka folks, welcome to Kansas. Takoyaki is tasty, but wait until you try our barbecue,'" Toland said.
After pouring years of work into the De Soto site, Swan said the company is still confident and satisfied with its choice to build the facility in Kansas.
"This is the right place to be," Swan said.
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KSHB 41 reporter Elyse Schoenig covers the cities of Shawnee and Mission. She also focuses on issues surrounding the cost of health care, saving for retirement and personal debt. Share your story idea with Elyse.
This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.