A 3D rendering of the new facility in De Soto , Kansas
Justin Herman , Panasonic Energy ’ s Vice President and Chief Information Officer , explains how the company harnesses these tools to revolutionise battery production .
“ We see AI as a tool to empower and enable all our employees , from the executive team to operators on the frontline ,” Justin explains . “ This reduces loss cost and waste and has a positive environmental impact , considering our Nevada factory is producing millions of cells per day .” This human-centric approach to AI implementation has yielded impressive results . At Panasonic Energy ’ s Gigafactory in Nevada , 22 different AI use cases span various departments , from winding areas and quality control to maintenance .
One striking example of AI ’ s impact is in-process optimisation . Justin notes that AI has reduced the time spent on repetitive
“ WE ARE LOOKING FORWARD TO THE OPENING OF OUR NEW EV BATTERY MANUFACTURING FACILITY IN DE SOTO , KANSAS , IN EARLY 2025 ”
JUSTIN HERMAN , VICE PRESIDENT AND CIO , PANASONIC ENERGY OF NORTH AMERICA
tasks like data collection from 4-5 hours to just 10-15 minutes , freeing up engineers for more value-added activities . Moreover , AI serves as a secondary judgement factor on production lines , helping to scan products and reduce waste by 10 to 15 % in some cases . The Nevada factory produces millions of cells daily , so the reduction translates to significant cost savings and environmental benefits .
CREDIT : PANASONIC
EVMAGAZINE . COM [ July 2024 ] 107