Last week, Ford announced a number of steps it has taken to secure the raw materials it needs to build a total of 600,000 EVs across the globe in 2023, consisting of 270,000 Ford Mustang Mustang Mach-E crossovers, 150,000 Ford F-150 Lightning pickups, 150,000 E-Transit vans, and 30,000 units of an all-new mid-size crossover destined for Europe. FoMoCo has achieved this through a variety of partnerships and signing a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with a number of companies to explore additional supplier agreements that also ensure that the Ford EV battery nickel supply has been mostly secured through 2026. Now, the automaker is working on localizing the processing of key Ford EV battery materials in North America, too.
Ford EV battery materials will be sourced from North American via a number of recently-signed MOUs, including one with EcoPro BM and SK On to establish a cathode production facility on that continent, an agreement with ioneer for lithium carbonate from the company’s Rhyolite Ridge project in Nevada, another with Compass Minerals for lithium hydroxide and lithium carbonate from its Utah operations on Great Salt Lake, an MOU with Syrah Resources and SK On to secure off-take for natural graphite from its processing site in Vidalia, Louisiana.
“It’s a very competitive landscape. These collaborators see value in the strong demand we have created with exceptional products like Mustang Mach-E and F-150 Lightning and the stability we can bring to these relationships,” said Lisa Drake, Ford Model e vice president, EV Industrialization. “We are excited to work with them – and others we haven’t yet announced – to build this new global supply chain for Ford.”
Ford is also in the process of switching some of its EV batteries – including those in the F-150 Lightning and Mustang Mach-E – from lithium-ion to lithium iron-phosphate (LFP), which don’t require nickel. In addition to securing raw materials agreements with companies across the globe and in North America, Ford is also considering using vertical integration – purchasing companies that procure raw materials used in EV production, or perhaps even start its own operations, as Ford Authority reported back in May.
We’ll have more on Ford’s efforts to secure raw materials for EV battery production soon, so be sure and subscribe to Ford Authority for 24/7 Ford news coverage.
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