Six months after Ford Motor Co. revealed plans to construct a $3.5 billion EV battery plant in Marshall, Michigan, the mission floor to a halt with the automaker citing considerations about being run it at a revenue.
“There are a number of considerations” behind the choice, amongst different issues, questions on whether or not it will probably function the plant at a revenue. Already beneath hearth as a result of function that will likely be performed by Chinese battery producer CATL, many native residents in Marshall pushed again in opposition to the mission which might take over a 950-acre wooded web site.
Not surprisingly, the choice generated fast hearth from the United Auto Workers President Shawn Fain, who referred to as the transfer “a shameful threat.” The UAW and Ford are within the midst of talks and a strike which is now 12 days into in opposition to Ford in addition to General Motors and Stellantis.
Part of the plan
Each of the Detroit automakers is within the midst of rolling out plans to construct EVs and the batteries that energy them in quite a lot of vegetation. The push to construct the vegetation within the U.S. comes on account of the federal laws and mandates to safe as a lot as $7,500 in tax credit.
In Ford’s case, it has websites in Georgia and Tennessee beneath building with the Michigan location being the latest addition to the corporate’s plans. Ford is steadily shifting over to EVs, having already launched the F-150 Lightning pickup and the Mustang Mach-E SUV.
The new plant was designed to assist the automaker meet anticipated demand by not solely producing extra batteries, however a special kind of battery.
Currently, the automaker makes use of lithium-ion batteries delivering greater than 300 miles per cost, in some instances. But they’re costly, so Ford goes to attempt to tempt patrons with an alternate battery chemistry referred to as lithium iron phosphate. LFP batteries are cheaper, although they do sacrifice some vary.
Ford partnered with CATL, the world’s largest battery producer, to assist it develop these sorts of batteries, which it already gives to Tesla, and lots of the main Chinese EV manufacturers.
Source: www.thedetroitbureau.com