Kathmandu,October 17, 2016:Tesla Motors and Panasonic Corp., its key battery partner, will expand their relationship to solar panels if Tesla CEO Elon Musk’s proposed merger with financially challenged SolarCity wins shareholder approval next month.
In a blog post, Tesla announced plans to work with Japan’s Panasonic Corp. to make photo voltaic cells and modules in Buffalo, New York, where SolarCity is working to open the largest solar panel factory in North America. If the merger is approved on Nov. 17, Panasonic would start making cells and modules in Buffalo in mid-2017. The devices would be used for a solar energy system to charge Tesla’s Powerwall and Powerpack stationary electricity storage units, the company said.
“We are excited to expand our partnership with Panasonic as we move towards a combined Tesla and SolarCity,†JB Straubel, Tesla’s chief technical officer and co-founder, said in a statement. “By working together on solar, we will be able to accelerate production of high-efficiency, extremely reliable solar cells and modules at the best cost.â€
“We expect that the collaboration talks will lead to growth of the Tesla and Panasonic relationship,†Shuuji Okayama, vice president of Panasonic’s Eco Solutions unit, in a statement.
Panasonic over the years has become Tesla’s key industrial partner, helping supply lithium-ion cells for Model S and Model X electric vehicles and investing in the electric-car maker’s sprawling Gigafactory that’s being built near Reno, Nevada. That $5 billion project is envisioned as the world’s largest battery plant when fully built and ramped up.
BY:Â Alan Ohnsman
