Ford EV Battery Plant In Michigan Has Smaller Footprint

Facing legal challenges and bad reviews from local residents – even though it isn’t open yet – not to mention questions from lawmakers, the under-construction Ford EV battery plant known as BlueOval Battery Park Michigan has faced its fair share of adversity since it was originally announced. On top of that, falling demand for all-electric vehicles prompted FoMoCo to scale back billions in planned EV investments and push back the launch of two models, all while also cutting back its planned workforce at BlueOval Battery Park Michigan from 2,500 workers to 1,700 and dialing back planned production from 35 gigawatt hours to 20 annually. As such, the future Ford EV battery plant will also have a smaller footprint than originally expected when it’s completed, according to Bridge Michigan.

As it continues to tweak its electrification strategy in a changing market, Ford remains committed to BlueOval Battery Park Michigan, which was originally expected to cost around $3.5 billion to erect. Now, The Blue Oval is looking to trim around $1 billion off that sum. Of the 2,000 acres at the Marshall Area Jobs, Opportunities, and Recreation Campus (MAJOR) where the future plant will be located, the facility will now take up around 500 acres – down a bit compared to the previously planned 730 acre footprint.

This represents a 30 percent reduction in size that means the future Ford plant will only take up around a quarter of the total MAJOR site, much of which is located on the southern portion of that property near Marshall. Meanwhile, the developer of the site – Marshall Area Economic Development Alliance (MAEDA) – will retain control over the northern portion of that land.

This means that Ford has changed its plans since November, when it originally announced that it was scaling back the size of BlueOval Battery Park Michigan from 950 acres to 730. That space also includes a planned conservation easement on the Kalamazoo River, which will remain in spite of this cutback. When completed, the land will house a 1.2 million-square-foot production building – roughly one-half the original planned size – though a 600,000-square-foot packing plant will be located next to it, along with a battery disassembly building and a disposal warehouse.

We’ll have more on Ford BlueOval Battery Park Michigan soon, so be sure and subscribe to Ford Authority for 24/7 Ford news coverage.