Ford’s decision to widen its relationship with Chinese battery maker CATL to produce energy storage batteries has angered members of Congress and fellow Detroit automakers.
The Dearborn, Michigan-based carmaker on Tuesday said it was setting up a new battery energy storage subsidiary, Ford Energy, following its announcement last month that it was converting an EV battery plant in Kentucky into an energy storage battery facility using licensed CATL technology.
Ford in 2023 announced its original partnership with CATL to produce low-cost lithium iron phosphate (LFP) EV batteries at a plant in Marshall, Michigan, which is set to begin operations this year. The latest move is designed to enable the carmaker to supply energy storage batteries for large AI data centre projects and mitigate the losses from its ill-fated EV transition.