Ford ends SK On partnership, takes full control of Kentucky battery plant amid EV downturn | Business
LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) — Ford Motor Co. and SK On will end their partnership that sparked two massive battery plants in Hardin County.
According to the Wall Street Journal, SK On, a South Korean battery company, said Thursday that Ford will take sold ownership of the Kentucky plant.
The first battery to be sold out of the Hardin County plant rolled off the assembly line in August of this year, made to power the all-electric Ford F-150 Lightning.
The second plant next door was put on pause amid a downturn in battery demand. Earlier this year, the WSJ said it’s possible that second plant could be used to supply Nissan with batteries for its EV fleet.
The Tennessee plant is nearly finished, the WSJ said, though the start of production “remains flexible” pending the transition to Ford’s sole ownership. As part of this breakup, SK On will assume ownership of the Tennessee plant and produce batteries for energy storage customers like utilities and data centers.
Ford CEO Jim Farley has said they planned for too much EV capacity and needed to pull back in response to rollbacks of strict emission rules by President Donald Trump’s administration.
The state of Kentucky agreed to give BlueOval an interest-free loan of $250 million if the company employs 2,500 people by 2026 and 5,000 by 2030.
The $5.8 billion Kentucky plants were announced in September 2021.
This story will be updated.
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