"Expanding production of nickel and cobalt for the sort of vehicle production these companies are targeting just isn't realistic by 2030."Įven more important, though, a provision of the federal Inflation Reduction Act signed last year funds 10 years of production credits for manufacturing battery cells in the U.S. "Adding large-scale LFP to the mix will be important for Ford and other OEMs because the critical minerals are so much more readily available compared to nickel-rich chemistries," explained Sam Abuelsamid, principal e-mobility analyst at Guidehouse Insights. It's too early to say anything about the new batteries' effect on base EV prices, said Gjaja, but their use of commonly available substances-iron and phosphate-insulates the cells from the rising costs of cobalt, nickel, and manganese metals used in EV batteries to date. This suggests that the LFP cells in the base models of each EV may be better suited to Sun Belt buyers than those in states that get snowfall-perhaps including its home state of Michigan. Ford notes 89 percent of F-150 Lightning trips and 95 percent of Mach-E trips started in ambient temperatures above freezing. More challenging is the lower performance of LFP cells in cold weather. Until that plant comes online, Ford will buy cells directly from CATL to use in the base models of those two EVs and others. That plant will use technology licensed from the world's highest-volume cell maker, Contemporary Amperex Technology Limited (CATL) in China. The company has now announced it will build a dedicated battery plant in Marshall, Michigan, to produce LFP cells starting in 2026, at a cost of $3.5 billion. The LFP battery packs will become standard on the Select base trim of Mustang Mach-E electric crossover this year, and the base XLT version of the F-150 Lightning full-size pickup truck next year, as Ford announced last July. Ford will partner with China's CATL to offer the lithium-iron-phosphate cells-first buying them, then starting in 2026 building them in Michigan-in the Mach-E and F-150 Lightning, then other EVsįord announced this afternoon that it will offer a second type of battery chemistry, known as lithium-iron-phosphate or LFP, in two electric vehicles now on sale.
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