mobile-menu-icon
Ford Authority

Ford F-150 Lightning Battery Upgrade Coming Soon

Now entering its second year of production, the Ford F-150 Lightning remains a red-hot commodity, though it’s only the first iteration of a model that’s guaranteed to undergo some heavy changes moving forward. For starters, the second-gen F-150 Lightning will ride on its own, dedicated platform, unlike the current model, which shares its platform and many other components with the ICE-powered Ford F-150. As Ford Authority reported back in July, the Lightning is also expected to switch from using a lithium-ion battery to a lithium-iron phosphate unit in the future, though it seems as if the EV pickup may be getting a different kind of battery upgrade soon, too.

Currently, the Ford F-150 Lightning utilizes SK On’s NCM9 battery, which stands for nickel, manganese, and cobalt – the three main materials present in the battery – as well as the fact that it has a proportion of nickel that represents up to nearly 90 percent of its total mix – the higher the nickel content, the higher energy density and better driving range. Now, Ford’s joint-venture partner has debuted an advanced version of that battery dubbed the NCM9+.

SK On hasn’t revealed too many details about its NCM9+ EV battery, but does say that it “surpasses the current top-notch NCM9 battery,” while the new unit was also named as an Honoree in the “Vehicle Tech & Advanced Mobility” category at the CES 2023 Innovation Awards. As such, it stands to reason that this new battery could be utilized in the Ford F-150 Lightning in the very near future. The current NCM9 battery is rather heavy at around 1,800 pounds, with the Stanard Range battery pack boasting 98 kWh of usable capacity, while Extended Range models offer 131 kWh.

In the meantime, Ford is working to secure the materials it needs to reach its goal of building 150k F-150 Lighting pickups annually by 2023, as well as 600k EVs worldwide by 2024 by signing deals with a wide variety of suppliers – not just SK On.

We’ll have more on the F-150 Lightning soon, so be sure and subscribe to Ford Authority for the latest Ford F-Series newsFord F-150 newsF-150 Lightning news, and continuous Ford news coverage.

Brett's lost track of all the Fords he's owned over the years and how much he's spent modifying them, but his current money pits include an S550 Mustang and 13th gen F-150.

Subscribe to Ford Authority

For around-the-clock Ford news coverage

We'll send you one email per day with the latest Ford updates. It's totally free.

Comments

  1. InB4 somebody shows up updating their apples to hammers cold weather & trailer FUD to “still won’t break 100 miles.”

    Ps “Lightning … it’s only the first iteration of a model that’s guaranteed to undergo some heavy changes moving forward. For starters, the second-gen F-150 Lightning will ride on its own, dedicated platform, unlike the current model, which shares its platform and many other components with the ICE-powered Ford F-150.”

    Reminds me near 1:1 of one of my comments in the last couple days.

    I approve!

    Reply
  2. The title of this article is misleading. A manufacturer’s supplier formulating a new product does not mean it will be offered, accepted, tested, approved or implemented into an existing product. Let alone that it is coming soon.

    Reply
    1. Sounds like you’re talking about Tesla’s Cybertruck.

      Reply
    2. It’s just a tweak to the chemistry of the current battery not a new battery. They will likely introduce it very soon. When Panasonic did the same for the 2170s in Tesla’s they were already going into production cars, it bumped the range up about 10%. That’s not a breakthrough but it’s modestly helpful. Expect the same on the Lightning. It might take longer to introduce because Ford is stuck in the old model year paradigm vs Tesla’s continuous improvement approach but you’ll definitely see these in the 2024 models.

      Reply
  3. I’m purchasing the Silverado EV truck. The Silverado EV will have a driving range of 400 miles on a full charge. In addition, this electric powertrain can use 800-volt and 350 kW charging. These high-capacity figures enable you to add 100 miles of driving range in only 10 minutes. 300 mile range in 30 mins = 👍👍.

    And…VIP…will save thousands $$$ over the ridiculous markups Ford continues to tack on to the EV F150.

    Reply
    1. You do realize your talking about a truck 18-24 months before you will get one right?

      Production is Fall 2023, they say that so they can extend it a few months, that means sometime in 2024.

      The Lightening will have some big improvements by 2024 as well.

      Reply
  4. They need to do something, our dealer said a few had to be bought back already due to quality issues. Consumer Reports recently dropped the MachE due to quality issues. Not a surprise other manufacturers are now saying they won’t put a big focus on EVs, they see how much money Ford lost on their EV push. Those other manufacturers are doing much better than Ford. I just hope Congress doesn’t bail Ford out using our money.

    Reply
    1. And now “Randy” joins the stupid apples and hammers disinfo chorus with the bought back trope and upping the ante by leaning heavily on the backward looking CR survey result.

      What dealer Randy? Please tell us so we can verify it.

      Reply
      1. Fact – EVs will never be as efficient as towing as ICE – ICE will hold this significant lead on towing capabilities, forever.
        Fact – EVs suck in cold weather situations where having this reliability could lead to a live and death situation like we saw in Buffalo this week.
        Fact – EV demand is crashing among consumers in fly over country after all the tech bros with stock options have been milked.
        Fact – TSLA stock is down 70% on the year.
        Fact – Ford was idiotic for having a fool like Doug Fields who charge, who ‘leads’ from his home office in California.

        Reply
        1. “Will never be…” is a proven to be a fool’s statement backed up by airplanes, moon landings, heart transplants, and Eliza Doolittle learning etiquette and diction.

          Please cite for me how many folks Ford in EV’s in Buffalo Alf.

          Maybe also tell us how many folks die of CO poisoning in EV’s every year Alf.

          Stock acts as a leading indicator of investor confidence in a company’s future performance. Tesla is down because it had a near monopoly on EV’s, it became overvalued, now new entrants are positioning to eat Tesla’s lunch, and in the meantime, Tesla’s CEO has gone from being a jackass to embracing his inner racist fascist.

          And it seems like inside baseball, but what’s wrong with Fields leading from CA?

          It’s a networked global enterprise, why do you think a guy has to be bolted to a desk in Dearborn to be effective?

          Reply
  5. Both Ford and GM need EV trucks as well as gas and diesel trucks for the next few years. Both have their use cases. EV price will come down. We are still in the classic early adopter period. The US had previously offshored much of its production capability for materials and advanced technology. As long as we really bring it back and the battery R&D really gets done both types of vehicles will be around for the next 5-10 years, maybe longer.

    Reply
    1. Thanks for the sane analysis Fritz!

      I agree, we’ll see a slow then faster shift in proportion to increasing BEV as current production ICE investments ramp down and programs she out.

      It will be more faster (and ultimately pronounced) in passcar and then in truck.

      ICE truck will be the last to phase out.

      Reply
      1. Problem is that the manufacturer nor the government get to decide what customers buy, the customers do. That is why EVs aren’t taking off the way Ford hoped, because the buyer pool is small and interest is limited. That is the beauty of a Free Market system, if customers don’t want something on a large scale…then it fails. As it should. God bless our great country.

        Reply
        1. You’re absolutely right that people should buy what they want, but you drew the wrong conclusion that people don’t want EVs. EV sales are up 60% from last year, accounting for over 11% of all new cars sold. Ford sold out of the Mach E and the Lightning. Demand well exceeds capacity at this point. Consumer Reports ran a poll over the summer that showed 36% of Americans were looking to buy/lease an EV as their next car.

          Reply
        2. The patriotic flourish at the end was an epic attempt to set the rhetorical hook!

          Good shot as a set up for the later chasers that come and build on that nonsense. I especially how it’s female names followed by guy names.

          Reply
      2. Give me an EV Truck that gets a 100% charge in 10 minutes, tows max loads 400-500 miles, and recharges in the middle of nowhere and I’m in. (I carry 35 gallons of fuel in the back woods).

        Reply
  6. Just change the algorithm to fast charge from 80 to 90% for now,

    Reply
  7. At least no valves to drop (Bronco joke)…..

    Reply
    1. True that.

      And none of the other typical ICE problems either that the industry, let alone Ford, has banished in a century.

      Reply

Leave a comment

Cancel