Ford Motor Company has launched Ford Energy, a new business focused on battery energy storage systems for large-scale customers.
The business will initially focus on utility-scale battery energy storage systems for customers such as data centers, utilities, and large industrial and commercial operations. Ford also plans to offer battery cells for residential energy storage solutions.
Ford plans to convert its BlueOval SK plant in Glendale, Kentucky, to produce advanced battery energy storage systems of 5 MWh or more. The company said the site will produce lithium-iron phosphate prismatic cells, battery energy storage system modules, and 20-foot DC container systems.
Ford plans to bring the operation online within 18 months and reach annual capacity of 20 GWh or more by 2027. The company also plans to use BlueOval Battery Park Michigan to build smaller amp-hour cells for residential energy storage solutions.
The company said the new business is part of a shift to use underutilized electric vehicle battery capacity and create a new revenue stream in the energy storage market.
Ford named Lisa Drake president of Ford Energy. Drake will report to John Lawler, Ford vice chair.
Drake most recently served as vice president of Technology Platform Programs and EV Systems at Ford, where she led the company’s industrial plan for batteries and electric propulsion engineering.
