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Ford Motor Co (NYSE: F) on Thursday said the carmaker and South Korean battery maker SK On Co set up a joint venture for building and operating battery production facilities in the US for electric vehicles.
The venture — BlueOval SK LLC — will establish a battery plant in Tennessee and two other facilities in Kentucky, the US automaker said in a regulatory filing.
Both the companies had signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) for the joint venture in May last year. BlueOval SK is expected to produce about 60-gigawatt hours of power annually that could be raised further.
In May, the US government announced it will allocate $3.1 billion in infrastructure funding to finance EV battery manufacturing.
Several battery makers have already announced plans to invest in the US to meet the expected EV growth and reduce reliance on production in China and cut the related supply chain risks.
While Hyundai in May said it would invest around $5.54 billion to build its first dedicated electric vehicle and battery manufacturing facilities in Georgia, Volkswagen America CEO last month said the company is “actively” looking to establish new assembly plants and battery facilities in America.
The South Korean battery makers have announced investment plans of $5.5 billion this year in US plants.
Ford said it will contribute up to $6.6 billion in capital to BlueOval SK over five years ending in 2026.
Picture Credit: CNBC
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