A Gigafactory in China soon? Panasonic confirms plans

Even as India waits on Tesla for any plans to set up a Gigafactory in the country, Japanese industrial major Kazuhiro Tsuga ’. He was speaking at the firm’s annual results meet.

For India; which has pitched for a Gigafactory in Maharashtra, or any other place of Tesla’s liking, the news will be well worth tracking. Not only is the country looking to make a major push into electric vehicles, manufacturing the batteries required at home will be a key to ensure costs are kept lower, and the transition does not just kill jobs in the existing automotive sector. Also, none of the other major auto firms have announced plans to make the batteries in India, while existing battery manufacturers still grapple with the costs, access to technology and resources for the transition.

Panasonic, which is already making Lithium cell batteries for Tesla at its Nevada Gigafactory in the US, already has a strong presence in India, with presence across categories from smartphones, to durables and electrical equipment.

A Tesla Gigafactory, for the record, is called that for good reason. The Nevada factory has almost 3000 acres under the company, with the factory occupying about 125 acres, or 6 million square feet. IN fact, counting multiple levels, it could be as large as 15 million square feet.

The factory is slated to be a champion on recycling, besides using only renewable energy.

As big water guzzlers, the Gigafactory’s biggest challenge is access and storage of water, and the Nevada factory is slated to be preparing with the 1.5 million Gallons water tank. The factory is key to maintaining or driving down the cost of a Tesla car, and doing it with the most efficient manufacturing possible, according to Musk.