Over the past several months, Ford has been hard at work securing the raw materials it needs to build 600,000 EVs next year and two million annually by 2026 by forging deals with a number of suppliers from around the globe. The automaker is casting a wide net in a world full of supply constraints, even considering vertical integration, while certain locations in the U.S. may also soon be able to provide lithium and other critical materials. Now, Ford is working to overcome yet another obstacle in its quest to expand EV production – speeding up the mining permit process, according to The Detroit News.
“Today’s lengthy, costly, and inefficient permitting process makes it difficult for American businesses to invest in the extraction and processing of critical minerals in the United States,” said Chris Smith, Ford chief Government Affairs officer, in a letter to the Department of the Interior.
With the automaker seeking to secure raw materials amid the current EV boom and most of those materials currently coming from China, there’s a sense of urgency in terms of increasing mining in the U.S., particularly as new tax credits will eventually require total domestic sourcing of those materials. However, it currently takes up to 10 years to complete the current mining permit process in the U.S., compared to two to three years in places like Canada and Australia.
In addition to speeding up the permitting process, Ford is also asking the government to expand the Defense Production Act to expedite battery mineral projects on federal land, as well as fund research and mapping of critical mineral deposits, increase transparency in the permitting process, and include emissions assessments in permitting evaluations. This feedback comes as the Interior Department has opened the matter for public comment as it works to revise current U.S. mining laws.
We’ll have more on these revised U.S. mining laws soon, so be sure and subscribe to Ford Authority for non-stop Ford news coverage.
Comments
Interesting so mining is OK when your mining for materials in the earth that support BEV just not ICE vehicles? Seems somewhat ironic considering all the automakers are hiding the facts about the carbon footprint to produce a BEV is 8X that of an ICE vehicle. But let’s not let the facts get in the way of another green initiative.
Another interesting fact is that we have heard for years now that EV prices will come down as EV’s become more mainstream. Well now is when every company has several EV’s in their lineup & pricing has done the exact opposite. Car manufacturers are GOUGING and it’s sickening. I will not purchase a Ford EV or any other of their vehicles ever again until they stop this process. I have long supported Ford for over 25 yrs. I just reserved the New Silverado Truck which gets better mileage and is CHEAPER in cost than the Ford Lightning. Greedy FORD!!