“This can be a large deal,” stated Michigan governor Gretchen Whitmer in a press convention unveiling plans for the manufacturing facility. Increasing battery choices will enable Ford to “construct extra EVs sooner, and in the end make them extra reasonably priced,” stated Invoice Ford, Ford’s govt chair.
Also called lithium ferrous phosphate (LFP) batteries, the kind to be produced on the new plant are a lower-cost different to the nickel- and cobalt-containing batteries utilized in most electrical automobiles within the US and Europe right now. Whereas the know-how has grown in recognition in China, Ford’s manufacturing facility, developed in partnership with the Chinese language battery big CATL, marks a milestone within the West. By reducing prices whereas additionally boosting charging pace and lengthening lifetime, LFP batteries might assist broaden EV choices for drivers.
Lithium-ion batteries all include lithium, which helps retailer cost in part of the battery referred to as the cathode. However lithium doesn’t do that job alone: it’s joined within the cathode by a supporting forged of different supplies.
The most typical type of cathode utilized in automobiles right now comprises nickel, manganese, and cobalt along with lithium. Some automakers, like Tesla, use one other cathode chemistry made with nickel, cobalt, and aluminum. Each these cathode varieties have risen to prominence partially as a result of they’ve excessive vitality density, that means the batteries will probably be smaller and lighter than others that may retailer the identical quantity of vitality.
Whereas these two was once the default decisions for cathodes in EV batteries, lithium iron phosphate, an older chemistry, has seen a comeback prior to now few years, largely pushed by big progress in China.
These iron-containing batteries are usually about 20% cheaper than different lithium-ion batteries with the identical capability right now. That is partly as a result of LFP doesn’t include cobalt or nickel, costly metals which have seen big worth swings lately. Battery makers are additionally working to cut back cobalt content material as a result of mining the steel has been tied to notably dangerous working circumstances.
Making cathodes with out cobalt and nickel might assist automakers minimize prices, and a few have already begun to shift battery chemistry utilized in automobiles offered within the US. Tesla imports LFP cells from China right now for some fashions, together with its Mannequin 3. Ford beforehand introduced that it could begin utilizing the know-how in its Mach-E in 2023 and within the F-150 Lightning in 2024.
With its newly introduced manufacturing facility, Ford would change into the primary automaker to provide LFP batteries within the US. The brand new facility, which is able to use know-how from CATL, might assist kick-start LFP manufacturing within the US extra broadly. “It’s a pivotal level for the North American manufacturing panorama,” says Evelina Stoikou, a battery know-how analyst at BloombergNEF, an energy-focused analysis agency.
