MARSHALL, MICH. — Ford Motor Co. (NYSE: F) has unveiled plans for BlueOval Battery Park Michigan, a $3.5 billion lithium iron phosphate (LFP) electric vehicle battery plant in Marshall, a small city of about 7,000 residents located approximately 100 miles west of Detroit.
The development will be the first automaker-backed LFP battery plant in the U.S., according to Ford, and will initially employ 2,500 workers upon completion in 2026. The site offers opportunity for further development, despite the fact that 245 acres of land along the Kalamazoo River will be placed into a conservation easement and protected against future industrial development.
The plant will operate as a wholly owned subsidiary of Ford in partnership with global battery manufacturer Contemporary Amperex Technology Co. Limited (CATL). Under terms of the arrangement, Ford will manufacture its LFP battery cells utilizing services and knowledge from CATL.
The company’s current roster of electric vehicles run on nickel cobalt manganese (NCM) batteries. By offering a second, lower-cost battery chemistry, the company will be able to expand its offering of electric vehicles with a variety of affordable new models.
“Ford’s electric vehicle (EV) lineup has generated huge demand,” says Jim Farley, the company’s president and CEO. “To get as many Ford EVs to customers as possible, we’re the first automaker to commit to build both NCM and LFP batteries in the U.S.”
Ford plans to introduce LFP batteries on its Mustang Mach-E this year and F-150 Lightning in 2024, prior to the opening of BlueOval Battery Park Michigan with a goal of reducing wait times for customers.
In 2019, Ford and its battery tech collaborators committed to invest over $50 billion in electric vehicles globally through 2026. Over the next three years, this investment will lead to more than 18,000 jobs in Michigan, Kentucky, Tennessee, Ohio and Missouri, according to Ford.
The Dearborn, Mich.-based company’s stock closed at $13.09 per share on Monday, Feb. 13, slightly down from $15.99 one year ago.
—Katie Sloan