ford
Yet another new electric vehicle battery factory is being built in the United States. On Monday afternoon, Ford announced that he would spend $3.5 billion to build a new plant in Marshall, Michigan. Importantly, the new site will produce lithium iron phosphate (also known as LFP) cells. This is cheaper and longer lasting than lithium-ion chemistries such as nickel-cobalt-manganese (NCM), at the expense of energy density and cold weather. performance.
“Ford’s electric vehicle lineup is generating huge demand. To get as many Ford EVs to our customers as possible, we are the first automaker to commit to manufacturing both NCM and LFP batteries in the United States. Scale LFP and NCM batteries to allow thousands, and soon millions, of customers to benefit from Ford EVs with cutting-edge, durable battery technology that has become more affordable over time. You will start enjoying it.”
LFP cells were originally invented in North America, but until now have been mostly restricted to EVs in the Chinese market due to patent licensing agreements. In this case, Ford entered into a licensing agreement with Chinese battery company CATL to allow it to manufacture LFP cells.
In fact, Ford already has a deal with CATL to start supplying LFP cells to automakers, which will come as an option on the Mustang Mach E later this year and then on the F-150 Lightning pickup in 2024. .
But when the new factory’s name, BlueOval Battery Park Michigan, begins operations in 2026, its packs should be more likely to qualify for the clean automobile tax credit associated with domestic production and manufacturing of EV battery packs. . Annual production at the new site will be 35 GWh a year, which is enough for his 400,000 BEVs, Ford says.
This isn’t Ford’s only battery plant. Partnering with SK Innovation in 2021, he built three battery factories in Tennessee and Kentucky for $11.4 billion. Each of BlueOvalSK’s plants is designed for an annual output of 43 GWh.
