Ford to build US$ 3.5 billion lithium iron phosphate battery plant

By Redação AutoIndústria | 2/14/23 | Translated by Jorge Meditsch

Ford announced this Tuesday, 2/14 that it will build its first lithium iron phosphate battery (LIP) plant in the United States. Fully controlled by Ford, the project shall cost no less than US$ 3.5 billion.

The manufacturer asserts LIP batteries, besides having a lower production cost than nickel cobalt manganese (NCM) batteries, are more durable and enable more frequent and fast charging. Local production will also reduce logistic and tax costs.

The future industrial complex, named BlueOval Battery Park Michigan, will be built in Marshall, Michigan, and shall begin operating in 2026.

With the LIP batteries, Ford intends to expand fastly electric vehicle manufacturing. Up to the end of 2023, the company expects to manufacture 600 thousand units annually and reach 2 million per year by 2026.

Even before inaugurating the Marshall unit, Ford will begin this year using LIP batteries in the Mustang Mach-E and the F-150 Lightning by 2024, according to Contemporary Amperex Technology (CATL).

The manufacturer estimates the new plant and other battery and electric vehicles production projects already add to a joint investment with partner companies of about US$ 17.6 billion since 2019. Up to 2026, it intends to invest more than US$ 50 billion globally in electrification technologies for its product lineup.

Ford already produces NMC batteries in the United States and says it will keep producing them even after the arrival of the LIP. ‘The electric vehicle lineup generated a huge demand.

To assist as many customers as possible, we are the first manufacturer committed to producing NMC and LIP batteries in the United States”, said Jim Farley, Ford’s president and CEO.