The Ford EV battery plant known as BlueOval Battery Park Michigan continues, on schedule, to begin producing lithium-iron phosphate (LFP) batteries starting next year, and on top of The Blue Oval’s $3 billion dollar investment, the automaker also expects to receive federal EV production tax credits, to boot. The sticking point for the future Ford EV battery plant has always centered around the fact that Ford will use technology licensed from China-based CATL to build those LFP batteries, and now, that same country could soon thwart those efforts itself.
According to the New York Times, the Chinese government now plans to place restrictions on eight key technologies used in the manufacturing process for EV batteries. The Chinese Ministry of Commerce now requires a license from the government itself for any company that wants to transfer these technologies via trade, partnerships, or investments to other countries, which could pose a big problem for Ford, given the fact that LFP batteries are currently made almost entirely in China, which is why it needs to license that tech.
Ford declined to comment on the matter, so it’s currently unclear how such a move might impact the automaker’s plans at the BlueOval Battery Park Michigan site. As far as why China is now requiring a license to offshore these technologies, the Ministry of Commerce stated “This is an adjustment to the existing restricted technologies based on the development and changes of technology.” Recently, we saw the same sort of thing happen with certain rare earth minerals coming from China, which has caused some production disruptions as a result.
As Ford Authority previously reported, Lisa Drake, Ford’s vice president of Technology Platform Programs and EV Systems, admitted that the automaker essentially had no option but to license LFP tech from a Chinese company, based on legalities. “We don’t misappropriate [intellectual property] at Ford,” she said. “You just can’t use it without that. You’ll be in violation of a piece of paper that has passed across the globe. It’s just a means to get that back.” Drake noted that the entire project “got caught up in the political storm,” adding that licensing the LFP battery tech is “the right thing to do” for both jobs and Ford’s future EV projects.”
Comments
A plant that Ford no longer needs.
I hope they have a plan B
Turn it into an assembly plant for Lincoln like they once had in Wixom.
China just discovered the weakest link in the US-China trade war.
Ford doesn’t believe in a contingency plan.
Ford has an investment in Colorado based Solid Power, who licenses their solid state battery designs and produces a solid electrolyte. Solid Power is also working with BMW who is currently testing a battery pack with their electrolyte.
Give the Chinese a taste of their own medicine, steal the technology like they’ve been doing to the United States for the past 50 years.
💯%!!!!
‘Sleep with dogs, wake up with fleas’!!
So you guy’s think that by using F Chinese battery technology to make F EV batteries you will sell more F EV’s !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
YOU ON YOUR WAY OUT OF F BUSINESS !!!!!!!!!!!
So now ford may be in big trouble over this! Making packs with the devil never a smart move!
Come on now how hard is it to come up with a similar yet different idea….I mean intermittent wipers and delay wipers….it’s been done many times.
Would love to see Ford pivot to superior homegrown Quantumscape battery tech, currently hitting the market. Btw, requires no Chinese imported graphite anode!