Ford to Invest $3.5 Billion in Lithium Iron Phosphate EV Battery Plant

­As we plunge headlong into our electrified future – courtesy of government regulations and the steady march of technological innovation – lithium-ion batteries have suddenly become amongst the most important devices on the planet. Ford is recognizing that need with a mammoth $3.5 billion investment in its first lithium iron phosphate EV battery plant.

China has a huge lead in the lithium-ion battery department, on both the raw material and completed item side. That’s more than a little problematic, given their geopolitical rivalry with the U.S. (and huge amount of U.S. debt already owned by China).

American domestic automakers are feeling the heat, especially, since all of them have set soft deadlines to go fully electric (or at least carbon-neutral), which has led them to take bold steps like GM investing $650 million in a Nevada lithium mine (the sole lithium producer in the U.S.), and Ford spending $3.5 billion on a lithium iron phosphate EV battery plant in Marshall, Michigan.

Ford’s investment is part of their overall $50 billion effort to boost EV production over the next three years, though curiously, it’ll rely on knowledge and services provided by China-based battery manufacturer Contemporary Amperex Technology Co., Limited (CATL).

Like most domestic automakers, Ford is a proud American original, but they’re not above seeking help from the worldwide leaders in the field – especially in the case of CATL, which has 13 plants across China, Germany, and Hungary.

The plant will add a lithium iron phosphate (LFP) battery option to Ford’s existing nickel cobalt manganese (NCM) option, which allows for a longer range but is more expensive.

“This lower-cost battery, at scale, will help Ford contain or even further reduce EV prices for customers,” Ford noted in its press release. “These LFP batteries will power a variety of affordable, next-generation Ford EV passenger vehicles and trucks under development, most of which will be assembled in the U.S.”

The plant is set to begin production in 2026, and before then, LFP batteries will find their way into the Mustang Mach-E this year and F-150 Lightning in 2024.