Ford Motor and partner SK Innovation said they plan to invest $11.4 billion at two sites in Kentucky and Tennessee to produce electric F-Series trucks and the batteries to power future electric vehicles.
A planned $5.6 billion facility in Stanton, Tennessee, called Blue Oval City, is planned to serve as a vertically integrated system for Ford to assemble electric F-Series vehicles. It will include a battery plant, suppliers, and recycling.
Twin battery plants on the site are intended to supply Ford’s North American assembly plants. Investments are planned to be made via BlueOvalSK, a new joint venture formed by Ford and SK Innovation, subject to definitive agreements, regulatory approvals, and other conditions.
Ford said its $7 billion investment is one of the largest manufacturing investments at one time by a U.S. automotive manufacturer in the U.S. The automaker said it expects 40% to 50% of its global vehicle volume to be fully electric by 2030.
The 3,600-acre Tennessee campus is intended to include the potential to use local renewable energy sources such as solar, geothermal, and wind power.
Ford said it would work with Redwood Materials, a battery materials company, to localize the supply chain network, create recycling options for scrap and end-of-life vehicles, and ramp up lithium-ion recycling.
Ford also is planning a $5.8 billion, 1,500-acre BlueOvalSK battery manufacturing facility in Glendale, Kentucky, which is targeted to open in 2025. Twin co-located plants will be capable of producing up to 43 GWh each for a total of 86 GWh annually.
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