The under-construction Ford EV battery plant known as BlueOval Battery Park Michigan has faced its fair share of controversy from the start – some of which stems from local residents concerned about the impacts it will have on the community, as well as lawmakers expressing their own potential national security concerns about the fact that Ford will build lithium-iron phosphate (LFP) batteries there using technology licensed from China-based CATL. However, there is apparently a very good reason why Ford had to look to China for this sort of tech.
In a recent interview with InsideEVs, 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.”
As Ford Authority previously reported, these new LFP battery packs use a Ford-specific design, while the chemistry, manufacturing process, and general design are all being licensed from CATL. Employees from the China-based battery maker will also travel to the BlueOval Battery Park Michigan site to help train and advise workers at the plant on that process, and teach them how to use the equipment.
Ford recently announced that it has invested $3 billion in the BlueOval Battery Park Michigan plant, which perfectly splits the difference between its original and revised estimates of $3.5 and $2.5 billion. The facility will span 500 acres and employ 1,700 people when it begins building batteries in 2026. Previously, it was unclear if the plant would survive attempts by the Trump administration to revoke federal funds from such projects, but Drake later confirmed that Ford will move forward, regardless of what happens.
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