The Ford EV battery plant known as BlueOval Battery Park Michigan has faced its fair share of trials and tribulations as of late, and yet, it continues to take shape, and is still on track to begin producing lithium iron-phosphate (LFP) batteries for all-electric vehicles starting in 2026. In addition to concerns over the fact that China-based CATL – which is licensing Ford its LFP technology for this endeavor – has ties to that country’s military, protests from local residents, and the possible elimination of the federal clean energy tax credit, the future Ford EV battery plant has also been impacted by the automaker’s plans to downsize that effort – though it seems as if FoMoCo has cleared that obstacle, too.
According to Crain’s Detroit Business, the state of Michigan has granted Ford an extra year regarding its deadline to create a certain amount of jobs and investments at the site, meaning that it’s clear to begin collecting funds from the $141 million grant it received previously. However, Ford must still dole out $4.5 million in “project resizing costs” to general contractor Walbridge before it can start pulling from that taxpayer-funded account.
When BlueOval Battery Park Michigan was first announced, Ford planned to invest $3.5 billion in the site and create 2,500 jobs by March 2027, which is what the state’s incentive package was based on. However, amid declining demand for EVs, Ford later downsized those plans to a $2.5 billion investment and the creation of 1,700 jobs by March 2028, which resulted in the Michigan Strategic Fund board slashing the automaker’s incentive package in half.
For now, construction of the future Ford EV battery plant remains on schedule, and the automaker just announced this week that it intends to begin producing LFP batteries there starting in 2026 as previously planned. Additionally, the site just hit a new milestone last December when the final steel beam was lifted into place. Now, construction has moved on to focus on multiple structures including the cell and pack plants.
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