Dearborn
Ford secures battery deal: Ford Motor is building a new $3.5bn electric vehicle (EV) battery factory in its home state of Michigan, with help from China’s Contemporary Amperex Technology (CATL), say Ryan Felton and Nora Eckert in The Wall Street Journal. The factory will draw on CATL’s technology to produce lithium-iron-phosphate (LFP) battery cells, as opposed to the nickel and cobalt batteries traditionally used in North America and Europe, the costs for which have risen over the past year. While LFP batteries have less energy density than nickel/cobalt batteries (meaning more frequent charging), the technology has improved. LFP batteries are also more durable and less of a fire risk.
Ford is aiming to produce two million EVs a year by the end of 2026, and it has so far secured 70% of the battery capacity it needs to achieve that goal. It is investing $50bn in pursuit of its 2026 target.
Government incentives have accelerated efforts to produce EVs in North America.
