DETROIT, Mich – According to Reuters, The U.S. Energy Department on Thursday said it intends to loan a joint venture of Ford Motor and South Korean battery maker SK On up to $9.2 billion to help finance the construction of three new battery manufacturing plants in Tennessee and Kentucky.
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The New York Times reports, President Biden aims for half of new cars sold in the United States to be electric by the end of the decade, up from about 7 percent in the first three months of this year. By helping to finance battery factories, the administration hopes to ensure that the United States does not become dependent on China for batteries and their components. The administration also hopes the new plants will help make up for the loss of jobs in conventional auto manufacturing.
There are many experts in the auto industry who are not happy with this news.
The NYT also reports, Ford is also spending $3.5 billion to construct a battery factory in Marshall, Mich., that will use technology from Contemporary Amperex Technology Ltd., a Chinese company known as or CATL that is the world’s largest battery maker. Ford’s deal with CATL, announced in February, drew political blowback from some Republican lawmakers who criticized Ford for working with a company that has close ties to the Chinese government.
