Ford is said to be days away from sharing plans to increase the supply of US-made electric vehicle batteries. According to Reuters, the automaker could make an announcement as soon as Monday about partnering with China’s Contemporary Amperex Technology Co. (CATL) to build a $3.5B iron phosphate battery facility outside of Marshall, Michigan. This small town is located approximately 100 miles west of Detroit. The facility will employ at most 2,500 workers once it is completed.
As Bloomberg, Ford continues to work on the project, despite uncertainty about how the Treasury Department will interpret President Biden’s landmark climate change bill. The specifics of the Inflation Reduction Act This language is intended to stop automakers from taking advantage of Consumer EV tax credits. If they produce vehicles using batteries from a “foreign entity or concern,” the rules will be applied.
According to Bloomberg, Ford considered an ownership structure where it would own the entire plant and any infrastructure nearby. Ford employees would also be employed at the facility. CATL would not own the technology that was used to make the batteries. This arrangement could allow batteries manufactured at the facility to be eligible for Inflation Reduction Act-related tax credit. A Ford spokesperson stated that they are exploring batteries using CATL’s technology for Ford cars and that they plan to localize them.
Ford announced in July that it would start sourcing batteries for US-bound 2023 vehicles Mustang Mach-E Models from CATL. The company also announced plans to produce 40 gigawatts of North American battery capacity by 2026.
