Panasonic’s battery energy unit saw earnings jump by 47% in the first quarter of its 2026 fiscal year as demand for energy storage systems for data centers soars.  

Panasonic, which makes batteries for electric vehicles manufacturers and for industrial customers, on Wednesday reported an operating profit of $215 million (31.9 billion Japanese yen) in its energy division for the quarter ended June 30, up by 47% compared to the same quarter of the previous fiscal year. 

In the outlook of the business environment going forward, Panasonic noted that in its energy segment, “concerns remain over further slowdown in EV demand due to US tariff policies and termination of IRA 30D tax credit.”

Earlier this month, Panasonic Energy launched mass production at a new automotive Lithium-ion battery factory in Kansas, aiming for annual capacity of 32 GWh to accelerate domestic U.S. battery production.

The long-term trend toward vehicle electrification is expected to continue at a certain level, said Panasonic, which competes with other Asian battery makers such as China’s CATL and South Korea’s LG Energy Solution for share in the EV market. 

In the industrial energy unit, demand for energy storage systems for data centers “is growing more than anticipated with large-scale investments related to generative AI,” Panasonic said. 

Moreover, demand for power equipment is on a recovery trend. 

But the impact of the U.S. tariffs is expected in the in-vehicle sub-segment (materials and cells), as well as in the Industrial segment, the company said.  

Onshoring of manufacturing activity and AI-related data centers are driving an increase in U.S. electricity consumption, Goldman Sachs said in a report earlier this year. 

To respond to growing demand, U.S. power utilities are set to spend $212.1 billion in capex this year, which would be a 22.3% increase on the year as they race to secure new electricity supply for data centers.   

By Tsvetana Paraskova for Oilprice.com

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