Ford announces it will invest $3.5 billion to build a battery plant in Michigan with the Ningde era

Thanks to CTOnews.com netizen Brother Black fly's left hand clue delivery! CTOnews.com, February 14 (Xinhua)-- Ford officials announced on Monday local time that they were working with Ningde Times to build a battery factory near Marshal, Michigan. The plant plans to invest US $3.5 billion and is initially scheduled to start production in 2026, employing 2500 people.

"making batteries in the United States will bring us closer to battery independence," Ford Chairman Bill Ford said when announcing the investment at an event in Romulus, Michigan.

They believe that lower costs and faster charging speeds will attract many customers, and that more car dealers will accept the limitations of lithium iron phosphate (LFP) batteries and avoid political risks.

Of course, making LFP batteries in the US also gives Ford a chance to get subsidies, which will help it achieve its goal of an 8 per cent profit margin in its electric vehicle business by 2026. Lisa Drake, vice president of Ford, said the "BlueOval Battery Park Michigan" project was "an important step towards affordability and an 8 per cent profit margin".

Drake said bluntly that the IRA bill, with a tax exemption of up to $35 per kilowatt-hour, was "very important" to Ford's decision to build a battery plant and 2500 jobs in Michigan. Josh Hundt, an official with the Michigan Economic Development Corporation, said jobs at the Ford plant would earn between $20 and $50 an hour.

In addition, the Michigan Strategic Fund approved a grant of up to $210 million and other incentives for the project on Monday.

The initial launch of the plant will bring 35GWh capacity, which is enough to meet the plan to produce 400000 electric vehicles a year, she said. The company will start production in 2026, and the plant has room for further expansion.

Touyuan PexelsCTOnews.com briefly popularizes science. In August last year, the US government promulgated the inflation reduction Act (IRA), which includes a subsidy of $430 billion (currently about 2.92 trillion yuan) to support the production and investment of electric vehicles, key minerals, clean energy and power generation facilities, but nine of these tax breaks are based on production and sales in the United States or North America. So this restriction can be bypassed if it is 100% controlled by an American company.

In addition, according to the latest requirements, battery production materials must also be purchased mainly locally. For example, the production of electric cars in the United States can enjoy a federal tax credit of up to $7500 per vehicle, and battery production will receive a tax credit of up to $35 per kWh.