By Trish Svoboda

Today, March 20, Governor Laura Kelly revealed that H&T Recharge, a global leader in battery component manufacturing, is making a $110 million investment and generating 180 new employment opportunities in De Soto. Panasonic Energy, a top cell manufacturer, has selected H&T Recharge as its key supplier for cylindrical battery cans for the new EV battery facility that is currently being built.

“My administration is dedicated to making Kansas the best place for businesses to start or grow,” Governor Laura Kelly said. “Kansas is attractive to companies from around the world because of our history of steady economic performance, talented workforce, and growing electric vehicle (EV) ecosystem. H&T’s decision to co-locate with Panasonic is proof that the work we are doing to attract business is paying off.”

H&T is set to establish four new fully automated production lines for battery cans in De Soto, aiming for large-scale manufacturing. The operations for product and process development will be stationed at H&T’s Center of Excellence located in Marsberg, Germany.

The upcoming manufacturing plant in Kansas will expand the current production of battery cans for Panasonic’s 2170 EV batteries. The goal is to kick-start mass production by the end of March 2025, with a starting production capacity of around 30 gigawatt hours (GWh).

“We’re always happy to see more good jobs coming to De Soto,” De Soto Mayor Rick Walker said. “We’re also excited about the work being done to bring electric vehicle battery suppliers to our area. Keeping the supply chain local not only produces more jobs in the region, it reduces the overall carbon footprint. We’re looking forward to seeing more of this in the future.”