Ford Forms New Battery Manufacturing Joint Venture (BlueOvalSK) With SK Innovation

FORD COMMITS TO MANUFACTURING BATTERIES, TO FORM NEW JOINT VENTURE WITH SK INNOVATION TO SCALE NA BATTERY DELIVERIES

• Ford and SK Innovation today announce they have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) for a joint venture – to be called BlueOvalSK – to manufacture battery cells and arrays in the U.S.
• BlueOvalSK to produce approximately 60 gigawatt hours (GWh) annually with potential to expand, starting mid-decade
• By 2030, Ford expects annual energy demand for its vehicles will be up to 140 GWh annually in North America and up to 240 GWh globally; the company has invested in and is working with a number of battery suppliers to secure capacity and scale delivery for next-generation Ford and Lincoln battery electric vehicles
• The BlueOvalSK MoU builds on Ford’s recently announced investments to accelerate R&D of battery technology and manufacturing – including a new global battery center of excellence and an additional investment in a solid-state battery startup

DEARBORN, Mich., May 20, 2021 – Ford and SK Innovation announced today they have signed an MoU to create a joint venture – to be called BlueOvalSK – to produce approximately 60 GWh annually in traction battery cells and array modules, starting mid-decade, with potential to expand.

"This MoU is just the start; it’s a key part of our plan to vertically integrate key capabilities that will differentiate Ford far into the future,” said Jim Farley, Ford president and CEO. “We will not cede our future to anyone else.”

“We are delighted to be entering into collaboration with Ford, America’s leading and iconic automaker. Ford is one of the most active players in vehicle electrification today. We are proud to be opening this new chapter in their long history,” said Kim Jun, SK Innovation CEO & President. “Our JV with Ford will play a pivotal role in fleshing out the electric vehicle value chain in the United States, a key objective of the current U.S. administration.”

The creation of the JV is subject to definitive agreements, regulatory approvals and other conditions. Next-gen cells and arrays will be used to power several future Ford battery electric vehicles.

“Through the JV, Ford and SKI will jointly develop and industrialize battery cells at scale that are tailored to deliver optimum performance and value for our Ford and Lincoln customers,” said Lisa Drake, Ford’s North America chief operating officer. “SKI is an important partner in helping deliver batteries with better range and value for our fully electric vehicles by mid-decade.”

Ford’s global BEV plan calls for at least 240 gigawatt hours (GWh) of battery cell capacity by 2030 – roughly 10 plants’ worth of capacity. Approximately 140 GWh will be required in North America, with the balance dedicated to other key regions, including Europe and China.

“Global automakers have praised SK Innovations’ EV batteries for their safety, high capacity and long life,” said Jee Dong-seob, Head of SK Innovation’s Battery Business. “SK Innovation will be supplying batteries for the fully electric version of Ford’s legendary and best-selling F-150 pickup truck. We are thrilled to be supporting the electrification of a vehicle that represents the very best of American automaking.”

SK Innovation is a global energy conglomerate headquartered in Seoul, South Korea. The company has pioneered the development of mid- to large-size EV batteries since 1991 and has expanded its battery operations globally since 2010. SK already operates a battery plant in Commerce, Georgia, USA – serving two global OEMs – and is expanding its production capacity in the European Union and China. SK Innovation plans to become one of the world’s top three EV battery suppliers by 2025 with over 125 GWh in global production capacity.

SK Innovation has specialized in the development and commercialization of high-nickel NCM battery technology. The company developed the world’s first NCM-811 battery in 2016 and continued to innovate and to develop the world’s first Nickel 9 battery that will be mass produced in the U.S., powering Ford’s F-150 Lightning.

Ford gaining EV momentum

Ford plans to lead the electric vehicle revolution – including by delivering fifth-generation lithium ion batteries as well as preparing for the transition to solid-state batteries, which promise longer range, lower cost and safer EVs for customers.

Ford this year announced its commitment to invest at least $22 billion through 2025 to deliver connected, all-electric vehicles, building on its areas of strength, starting with EV versions of its most popular nameplates – including Mustang Mach-E, E-Transit and F-150 Lightning.

To support its longer-term battery plans, Ford is investing in battery R&D. Last month, Ford announced a new global battery center of excellence – named Ford Ion Park – to accelerate its battery and battery cell technology R&D – including future battery manufacturing.

Ford is building on nearly two decades of battery expertise by centralizing a cross-functional team of 150 experts in battery technology development, research, manufacturing, planning, purchasing, quality and finance to help Ford more quickly develop and manufacture battery cells and batteries, ultimately aiming to deliver more, even better, lower cost EVs for customers.

The Ford Ion Park team already is underway. In addition, a $185 million collaborative learning lab in Southeast Michigan that is dedicated to developing, testing and building vehicle battery cells and cell arrays opens late next year.

Earlier this month, Ford also announced it is growing its investment in Solid Power, an industry-leading producer of all-solid-state batteries for EVs. Initially investing in Solid Power in 2019, Ford is making an additional equity investment to help accelerate further development of solid-state vehicle battery technology, contributing to a $130 million Series B investment round in which the BMW Group becomes an equal equity owner with Ford.

Solid-state batteries are showing great promise. They don’t use the liquid electrolyte found in conventional lithium-ion batteries, can be lighter, with greater energy density and provide more range and lower cost. They also can be made on today’s lithium-ion battery lines, allowing Ford to reuse about 70 percent of its capital investment in lithium-ion manufacturing lines.

Proven electrification expertise

SK Innovation has a spotless health and safety record and has not registered a single EV battery-related fire.

Ford has been actively involved in battery research and electric vehicles, starting with Henry Ford and Thomas Edison. To date, the company has secured more than 2,500 U.S. patents in electrification technologies, with another 4,300 patents pending.

Since 2004, Ford has sold more than 1 million hybrids, plug-in hybrids and all-electric vehicles and integrated four generations of batteries into its vehicles. By year-end, the company will be manufacturing electrified vehicles and supporting technologies at more than 15 powertrain and vehicle assembly plants globally.

Ford has assembled hybrid battery packs and electric motors in Michigan since 2012. That same year, Ford invested $135 million to design, engineer and produce these components for hybrids. It included a combined 170 jobs at the Rawsonville plant to assemble batteries and VanDyke Transmission plant to assemble e-motors, plus hiring more than 50 electric vehicle engineers.


https://media.ford.com/content/ford.../ford-commits-to-manufacturing-batteries.html

from https://www.greencarreports.com/news/1132323_ford-ski-battery-joint-venture-american-evs-solid-state
Ford-SKI battery venture will supply American EVs, might ease transition to solid state

BENGT HALVORSON MAY 20, 2021


Ford and the battery supplier SK Innovation on Thursday announced a joint venture, called BlueOvalSK, that will manufacture battery cells and arrays in the U.S. for future electric vehicles.

The joint venture will produce 60 gigawatt-hours of cells annually by the middle of the decade, the companies said, with the potential to expand the business later.

SK Innovation has already started producing cells in Georgia and is due to supply them for the 2022 Ford F-150 Lightning electric pickup revealed Wednesday and set to arrive next year.



Artist's rendering of SK Innovation battery factories in Commerce, Georgia

The F-150 will be the debut vehicle for SK’s new “Nickel 9” NCM chemistry—incorporating cathodes that are nearly 90% nickel, along with just 5% cobalt and 5% manganese. It’s the first time such a battery, also called “nine-half-half,” has been commercialized, according to SK, and it means a higher energy density, longer range, and a makeup that’s better for the environment.

These cells are different than those to be made by the GM-LG joint venture, Ultium Cells LLC, as those follow a NCMA chemistry, also with 90% nickel but with the addition of aluminum.


2021 Ford Mustang Mach-E electric powertrain

Ford, which currently uses LG as a supplier for the cells in its Mustang Mach-E electric car—sourced from Poland—notes that it’s working with “a number of battery suppliers to secure capacity and scale delivery for next-generation Ford and Lincoln battery electric vehicles.”

Ford chief operating officer Lisa Drake called SKI “an important partner in helping deliver batteries with better range and value for our fully electric vehicles by mid-decade.”

Ford said that it expects its global annual energy demand for EVs in 2030 to be up to 140 gwh in the U.S. and to 240 gwh globally. The company notes that the latter number is roughly 10 cell production plants of capacity.


SK innovation cells

“Our JV with Ford will play a pivotal role in fleshing out the electric vehicle value chain in the United States, a key objective of the current U.S. administration,” said SK Innovation CEO and president Kim Jun.

The announcement is a next step beyond what Ford announced last month—that it plans to build and vertically integrate cells for future electric vehicles, supported by a global battery “center of excellence” in Michigan it’s calling Ford Ion Park.

Ford also earlier this month announced an investment in the solid-state cell technology company Solid Power, becoming an equity owner alongside BMW.


Solid Power solid-state battery cells

Ford global development chief Hau Thai-Tang said in a call Thursday morning that although it still has a lot to do to “prove out the tech,” the flexibility to potentially produce solid-state cells on about 70% of the equipment that would be used in this joint venture is a potential upside.

“The flexibility to transition to a new technology is at the forefront of our considerations and our discussions with SK,” said Thai-Tang.
From here, the companies are in talks over a MOU for the new joint venture, and there are many details yet to finalize. It’s not yet certain whether SK’s Georgia facility will be part of those plans or whether the BlueOvalSK plants would be elsewhere.

Thai-Tang said that in the talks for the joint venture, it’s the likely plan for the mid-decade capacity to come from two fully utilized plants in North America.

Ford says that the relationship between the companies began in 2013, and SK Innovation noted help from Ford as well as the South Korean and U.S. governments in helping find a resolution in a recent trade dispute—one that, given a different outcome, might have left Ford scrambling for a solution.