On June 8, Kazuo Tadanobu, President and CEO of Panasonic Energy, officially announced the company's latest medium-term strategic plan. The company is stepping up its investment in the AI Data Center (AIDC) energy storage business. It plans to invest a cumulative total of approximately 350 billion yen (about 14.8 billion RMB) by fiscal year 2029 to expand the production capacity of data center energy storage systems, aiming to build this sector into a crucial driver for future growth.
Investing 350 Billion Yen to Reshape the Global Supply Chain
To meet rapidly growing market demand, Panasonic Energy plans to invest a total of 350 billion yen to build an energy storage supply system geared towards data center applications across Japan, the United States, and Mexico.
Japan: Panasonic is retrofitting its automotive production lines at the Osaka plant to manufacture products for data center applications, primarily producing lithium-ion batteries and supercapacitors. The related lithium-ion batteries already began shipping in April 2026, and it is expected that by fiscal year 2029, its lithium-ion battery production capacity will increase to three times its current level.
United States: The Kansas plant will introduce production lines specifically designed for data center applications, with mass production expected to begin in fiscal year 2029.
Mexico: The second factory, utilized for producing battery modules, is expected to begin mass production in fiscal year 2027. Meanwhile, the company has decided to build a third factory, which is scheduled for mass production in fiscal year 2028.
Supply Chain Localization: The company is accelerating the shift toward a North American supply chain, with the goal of increasing the localization rate in North America to over 50% by fiscal year 2029.
Accelerating the Commercialization of Next-Generation Power Solutions
In terms of its technology roadmap, Panasonic is actively developing high-power lithium-ion battery (LIB) and battery backup unit (BBU) solutions.
According to the newly released roadmap: the first-generation capacitor backup unit (CBU), developed in collaboration with Panasonic Industry, is scheduled to begin mass production within fiscal year 2027. Additionally, the BBU designed specifically for high-voltage direct current (HVDC) is also planned to achieve mass production within fiscal year 2027.
Guided by this new medium-term plan, Panasonic Energy has set clear financial targets. It is projected that by fiscal year 2029, the company's overall sales will reach approximately 2 trillion yen, with an adjusted operating profit exceeding 300 billion yen.
To achieve this goal, the scale of the data center energy storage system business is expected to generate approximately 1 trillion yen in sales by fiscal year 2029—about three times the level seen in fiscal year 2026—and is anticipated to achieve a return on investment (ROI) of over 20%.
Source：EnergyTrend