Group 1: Event Overview - The 2025 (10th) Lithium Battery Industry Annual Conference and Lithium Battery Golden Ding Award Ceremony will be held on December 18-19, 2025, in Shenzhen, China, with an expected attendance of over 2,000 in-person participants and 30,000 online viewers [2] - The event is organized by Qidian Lithium Battery, Qidian Solid-State Battery, Qidian Energy Storage, and Qidian Research Institute SPIR [2] Group 2: Panasonic's Business Developments - Panasonic Energy has signed a multi-year agreement to supply cylindrical batteries to Zoox, a subsidiary of Amazon, starting in early 2026 [3][4] - The initial supply will come from Panasonic's factory in Japan, with plans to expand to its Kansas factory in the future [3] - Panasonic's global power battery installation volume reached 33 GWh from January to September, marking a 31.2% year-on-year increase, although it still lags behind Chinese competitors [5] Group 3: Financial Performance and Challenges - Panasonic has lowered its full-year operating profit forecast by 13.5% due to lower-than-expected sales in its automotive battery business and higher restructuring costs, projecting an operating profit of 320 billion yen (approximately $2.12 billion) for the fiscal year ending March 2026 [5][6] - The energy division's operating profit for the second fiscal quarter was 1.2 billion yen, a significant decline of 96.4% year-on-year [6] Group 4: Battery Technology and Production Capacity - Panasonic is focusing on the production of 4680 large cylindrical batteries, with its Wakayama factory designated as the main production site, although mass production has not yet commenced [7] - The company has two major factories in the U.S. with a combined capacity of 70 GWh, including the Gigafactory 1 in Nevada, which has an annual capacity of 40 GWh [8] - The DeSoto factory in Kansas is expected to begin mass production in July 2025, with a capacity of 30 GWh, primarily supplying Tesla [8] Group 5: Competitive Landscape - Panasonic's 4680 battery production faces technical challenges, including welding and dry electrode technology, which have previously delayed mass production plans [9] - Chinese companies have already established a mature production capacity for large cylindrical batteries, posing significant competition for Panasonic in the global market [10]