My Blog

Ford Motor Company and Seoul, South Korea-based SK Innovation signed a memorandum of understanding to develop a joint venture to locally manufacture batteries for electric vehicles, the two business stated Thursday. The brand-new venture, called BlueOvalSK, will produce around 60 GWh yearly beginning mid-decade. The MOU is the current sign that Ford means to vertically develop its battery capabilities.

The 2 Korean corporations have actually invested billions in American battery production alongside their automaker partners. LG Energy is building producing centers in Ohio and Tennessee under its joint venture with General Motors, Ultium Cells LLC.

Ford has taken strides in current months to build a vertically-integrated ability to manufacture battery cells at scale. Ford has not always been so bullish on making batteries in-house. SK Innovation already has 2 separate EV battery plants under building and construction in Georgia under a cumulative financial investment of $2.6 billion. One of the batteries is already producing batteries and the other is set to end up being functional in 2023. The 2 Korean conglomerates have invested billions in American battery production together with their automaker partners.

Ford has taken strides in current months to build a vertically-integrated capability to make battery cells at scale. In April the Dearborn, Michigan-based automaker said it would open a battery innovation advancement center in Michigan. It also led, with BMW, a $130 million investment into solid-state battery designer Solid Power’s Series B round.

Ownership structures will be exercised in the future, Lisa Drake, Ford’s chief operating officer, informed reporters Thursday. The 60 GWh production capability would likely cover 2 manufacturing sites but the companies are still identifying those strategies, consisting of places of the plants across North America, Drake added. 60 GWh roughly equates to enough battery capability to develop 600,000 lorries, Thai-Tang stated.

The news comes less than 24 hours after Ford debuted its F-150 Lighting, the electric version of its iconic nameplate automobile and the very popular truck in America. The Lighting is one of 3 EVs that Ford has actually debuted in the past year and will be a foundation of the company’s plans to invest $22 billion in EVs through 2025.

“Initially with simply a Mustang Mach-E, we seemed like it was most effective for us to purchase the batteries from the supply base, however as we start to go up that adoption curve, and move from simply the early adopters to the early majority […] we now have adequate volume to validate this level of investment and this is why we’re pursuing this partnership,” Ford’s primary item platform and operations officer Hau Thai-Tang stated Thursday.

“The scale just makes sense now,” Drake stated. “It’s the best time to begin to do this.”

Ford has not always been so bullish on making batteries internal. “Our product strategies altered considerably,” Thai-Tang stated.

The business just recently finished a $1.8 billion settlement in April over trade secret disagreements with competing LG Energy Solutions. The resolution followed a two-year dispute that nearly caused SK Innovation closing down its Georgia strategies.

SK Innovation currently has two different EV battery plants under construction in Georgia under a cumulative financial investment of $2.6 billion. One of the batteries is currently producing batteries and the other is set to end up being functional in 2023. The company is also developing a different factory in Tennessee with Volkswagen AG as its client. Ford and SK Innovation’s relationship covers several years, with the automaker selecting SK as its battery supplier for the Lightning in 2018.