Panasonic to supply batteries for Lucid
Lucid Motors has signed a supply agreement for battery cells with Panasonic Energy. The Panasonic batteries will be installed in both the Lucid Air and the upcoming Gravity SUV. Until now, the cells came from LG.
The partnership with LG (then LG Chem, today the company is known as LG Energy Solution) was announced in February 2020 – and was limited from the start to 2023. It is not known whether Lucid Motors will use battery cells from two suppliers in future or whether the agreement with Panasonic replaces the one with LG – because Lucid does not mention LG at all in the announcement.
According to the two companies, a multi-year supply agreement has been signed, but neither have mentioned the exact duration of the contract nor agreed delivery quantities. What is clear is that the Panasonic cells are to be installed in the Air electric sedan and the Gravity electric SUV announced for 2024.
The Panasonic cells are to be supplied to Lucid with its production site in Arizona from two plants – from a facility in Japan as well as Panasonic’s announced US plant in De Soto, Kansas. Round cells in the 2170 format are to be produced there from the end of March 2025 with an initial annual production capacity of probably 30 GWh. Details on the cell chemistry, however, are not known.
“Panasonic is a fantastic partner with both innovative technology and depth of experience,” said Peter Rawlinson, CEO and CTO of Lucid. “This agreement will help us meet the growing demand for lithium-ion batteries as we continue to ramp production of the full Lucid Air line-up in 2023 and expect to begin production of our Gravity SUV in 2024.”
“With the increased electrification of the automotive market, partnerships with technology-leading EV manufacturers such as Lucid are critical to our mission,” said Kazuo Tadanobu, CEO of Panasonic Energy. “This partnership will help us drive growth of the lithium-ion battery industry and accelerate the world towards a net-zero emissions future.”
lucidmotors.com, panasonic.com (PDF)
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