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Ford Motor is spending about $3.5 billion to proceed with its plans of building a new plant for the production of batteries for electric vehicles. The American automaker is doing this business in partnership with a Chinese company, Contemporary Amperex Technology Co., Limited or CATL.
Ford Motor confirmed this week that the EV battery plant is set to rise in Michigan. The company was supposed to build it in the state of Virginia but its governor reportedly rejected the proposal.
The company’s aim for the new facility is to reduce the cost of entry-level EVs by producing low-cost batteries for some of its own electric vehicle units. The EV battery plant will initially generate at least 2,500 new jobs when it opens at a greenfield site in the city of Marshall.
As per Fox Business, production of EV batteries in the facility will begin in 2026. To be more exact, it will make lithium iron phosphate cells (LFP) and nickel cobalt manganese cells (NCM) which are cheaper to manufacture. Then again, these EV battery components are said to have a lower energy density compared to the nickel cobalt manganese chemistry (NCM) that is currently being used in all Ford EVs.
Although this project is a collaboration with CATL, it will be fully owned by one of Ford Motor’s subsidiaries. But it was agreed that the Chinese battery firm will allow the use of its technology for the production.
The announcement of the plant was attended by Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer, Ford’s chief executive officer, Jim Farley, and executive chairman, Bill Ford. The event took place at the Ford Ion Park where they also revealed that the facility will measure 2.5 million square feet.
“We are committed to leading the electric vehicle revolution in America, and that means investing in the technology and jobs that will keep us on the cutting edge of this global transformation in our industry,” the automaker’s executive chair Bill Ford said in a press release. “I am also proud that we chose our home state of Michigan for this critical battery production hub.”
Photo by: Jessy Smith/Unsplash
