Creating 11,000 Jobs, Investing $11.4 Billion, FORD to Lead America's Shift to Electric Vehicles

Welcome to Blue Oval City, this is the 21st century FORD Vision moving forward with automotive leadership.

Ford Motor Company has announced plans to bring electric vehicles at scale to American Customers with two new massive, environmentally and technologically advanced campuses in Tennessee and Kentucky for the production of the next generation of electric F-series trucks and the batteries to power the future Ford and Lincoln vehicles.

Here is a bullet list of what Ford is doing and it is just not an investment in Tennessee and Kentucky, but so much more:

• Ford to bring electric zero-emission vehicles at scale to American customers with the largest, most advanced, most efficient auto production complex in its 118-year history
• Called Blue Oval City, the complex will be constructed on a nearly 6-square-mile site in west Tennessee and build next-generation electric F-Series pickups and advanced batteries
•  Moreover, a new BlueOvalSK Battery Park is to be built in central Kentucky consisting of twin battery plants that will power a new lineup of Ford and Lincoln EVs
• Ford and SK Innovation plan to invest $11.4 billion and create nearly 11,000 new jobs – close to 6,000 in Stanton, Tennessee, and 5,000 in Glendale, Kentucky; production of the new electric vehicles and advanced lithium-ion batteries will begin in 2025
• Three new BlueOvalSK battery plants – two in Kentucky and one in Tennessee – will enable 129 gigawatt hours a year of U.S. production capacity for Ford
• These investments build on Ford’s recent announcements that it will work with Redwood Materials on closed-loop domestic battery recycling and make a new investment to increase production of the F-150 Lightning pickup in Dearborn, Michigan, starting next year
• Ford is investing $90 million in Texas – $525 million total in the U.S. to train skilled technicians to service connected, electric zero-emission vehicles

SK innovation is the new partner that FORD is partnering with as they make their largest ever U.S. Investment in electric vehicles at one time as they invest $11.4 Billion dollars in Tennessee and Kentucky creating nearly 11,000 jobs as FORD strengthens local communities and builds on FORD's position as America's leading employer of Hourly autoworkers. This investment will produce 129 GWh annually allowing for more than one million batteries including long range packs for SUVs and Trucks of all configurations.

Blue Oval City is a all-new $5.6 billion mega campus in Stanton, Tennessee which will create approximately 6,000 new jobs as FORD reimagines how vehicles and batteries are manufactured. This will be built on 3,600 acres with an annual capacity of 43 GWh of production per year.

Ford has stated this campus will be a vertically integrated ecosystem that allows assembly and expansion of the electric F-series vehicles. This plant will be designed to be carbon neutral with zero waste to landfill once fully operational.

Ford working with SK Innovation will build a $5.8 billion BlueOvalSK Battery Park, creating 5,000 jobs. The TWIN BATTERY PLANTS on the site are intended to supply Ford's North American assembly plants with locally assembled batteries for powering the next generation of electric Ford and Lincoln vehicles. This plant will be built on 1,500 acres with a production capacity of 86 GWh per year.

To quote Ford Executive Chair Bill Ford: “This is a transformative moment where Ford will lead America’s transition to electric vehicles and usher in a new era of clean, carbon-neutral manufacturing” “With this investment and a spirit of innovation, we can achieve goals once thought mutually exclusive – protect our planet, build great electric vehicles Americans will love and contribute to our nation’s prosperity.”

This comes amid a strong demand for the all-new Ford F-150 Lightning Truck, E-Transit and Mustang Mach-E electric vehicles that are currently in production or ramping up production. Ford predicts that their global production will be between 40 to 50% electric by 2030.

Despite the size of these new campuses / assembly plants, the impact is expected to be minimal on the surrounding environment with a goal to generate a positive impact. This is expected to be attained through biomimicry in design of the facilities. 

Ford had this to say about these new locations:

"Through an on-site wastewater treatment plant, the assembly plant aspires to make zero freshwater withdrawals for assembly processes by incorporating water reuse and recycling systems. Zero-waste-to-landfill processes will capture materials and production scrap at an on-site materials collection center to sort and route materials for recycling or processing either at the plant or at off-site facilities once the plant is operational.

Ford is collaborating with Redwood Materials, a leading battery materials company, to make electric vehicles more sustainable and affordable for Americans by localizing the supply chain network, creating recycling options for scrap and end-of-life vehicles, and ramping up lithium-ion recycling. Ford believes battery recycling is essential for the success of an electrified future and has the potential to offer significant economic benefits as well as help solve for end-of-life battery recycling."

SK Innovation of South Korea started as an oil refining business in 1962 and expanded into diverse areas of business including exploration, and production of batteries and electronic material. The SK Innovation battery business will be spun off October 1st 2021 as a wholly owned subsidiary to accelerate business growth and promote corporate value.

SK Innovation will have a total of a 150 GWh of production when these new Ford/SK plants come online in the US.

SK Innovation is overseeing the current construction and had this image to share of the Blue Oval City plant.

One could say the future looks BRIGHT for Ford and SK Innovations.

Ford to Lead America’s Shift to Electric Vehicles with New Mega Campus in Tennessee and Twin Battery Plants in Kentucky; $11.4B Investment to Create 11,000 Jobs and Power New Lineup of Advanced EVs | Ford Media Center

SK Innovation and Ford invest $11.4 billion to seize the top position in U.S. battery market via BlueOvalSK – SK Innovation Newsroom (skinnonews.com)