Japanese battery makers affirm commitment to US despite Trump uncertainty
As the lithium ion battery industry enters a new era of uncertainty following president-electDonald Trump’s victory in November’s US election, Japanese cell makers underscored their commitment to the US market during the opening session of Benchmark Week 2024 in Los Angeles.
“Regardless of the administration and the federal incentives that are in place, we’re long term committed and our investment is in place. That’s not changing,” said Robert Winans, head of supply chain at Panasonic North America. “Our immediate goal is for over 50% of our supply chain to be North America based by the end of the decade and 100% of our manufacturing will be done in the US between Nevada and Kansas.”
Panasonic, an early mover in the US EV market through its 2017 partnership with Tesla at the Nevada Gigafactory, is developing a second 34 GWh facility in Kansas, scheduled to begin production in 2025.
Evan Leon, Senior Project Manager at Toyota Tsusho America, echoed Winan’s sentiments, suggesting that the Japanese cell maker’s long term strategy in the US “remained unchanged” following the election result.
“We committed towards a $14 billion 35 GWh cell and module manufacturing facility in North Carolina in partnership with Toyota, that won’t just be for battery electric vehicles but will go across a variety of electrified powertrains,” he added.
Watch Benchmark analysts discuss what Trump’s victory means for EVs and the battery supply chain.
Bipartisan support for US manufacturing
The incoming president has been vocally critical of electrification targets, outlining his desire to repeal some of the incentives provided by the landmark Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) and Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BLI).
Yet, Iola Hughes, Head of Research at Rho Motion, underscored that over $110 billion of investment had already been committed to electric vehicle and battery supply chain related projects since 2022.
“On the supply side the momentum is very much in place,” she said. “The sentiment around creating jobs and supporting manufacturing in the US is very strong.”
Benchmark analysis demonstrates post-IRA investment has flowedprimarily into Republican states: 93% of IRA-related investments in GWh terms are located in red-states, making a large-scale rolling back of these investments unlikely.
“We know both parties are very motivated to create US jobs and grow domestic manufacturing,” said Winans. “It is a bipartisan objective and at Panasonic we’re excited about that.”
Request a copyof Benchmark’s report on what Donald Trump’s US election victory means for the EV and battery supply chain.
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