Photo: Ford
Ford Motor Company last week increased its investment in Solid Power, a manufacturer of solid-state batteries for electric vehicles. Leading a $130 million Series B funding round, Ford and BMW Group become equal equity owners in the company with the shared goal of lowering EV costs.
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As Ford Chief Product Platform and Operations Officer Hau Thai-Tang notes, solid-state batteries are crucial to the continued development of EVs. Ford is pumping $22 billion into global electric vehicle production through 2025 as it pushes toward a zero-emissions lineup and carbon neutrality in manufacturing.
“Leveraging the speed of a startup and the expertise of some of the most seasoned battery experts in the world at Ford, we’re exploring different ways to power tomorrow’s fun-to-drive all-electric vehicles, using proven development and manufacturing processes,” said Thai-Tang.
Ford looks to solid-state batteries to help build affordable EVs
Solid-state batteries aren’t just more affordable to produce than lithium-ion batteries like that found in the Mustang Mach-E. They’re also more energy-dense, which will allow for more power and greater range. The more compact size, as Ford electrification subsystems manager Ted Miller notes, will also improve efficiency in passenger and cargo space. On top of that, the lack of liquid electrolyte makes solid-state batteries less of a safety risk.
Ford and BMW are hitching their wagons to Solid Power because the startup has demonstrated the ability to bring solid-state batteries to scale for safe, efficient mass production. The agreement between Ford and Solid Power grants the automaker 100-ampere-hour cells for integration in vehicles beginning next year.
Prior to the increased investment in Solid Power, Ford announced the creation of its Ford Ion Park global battery center. Ford Ion Park includes a $185 million, 200,000-square-foot learning lab that will bring together experts from different teams within Ford for research and development.
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Kyle S. Johnson lives in Cincinnati, a city known by many as “the Cincinnati of Southwest Ohio.” He enjoys professional wrestling, Halloween, and also other things. He has been writing for a while, and he plans to continue to write well into the future. See more articles by Kyle.