Ford’s $5.8 Billion EV Battery Plant In Kentucky Powers Up

• Ford has made huge investments to produce EV batteries in the U.S.
• Its joint venture with SK On officially kicked off battery production on Tuesday in Kentucky.
• That facility is making high-nickel battery packs for the Ford F-150 Lightning and E-Transit.

Ford’s joint venture with the South Korean battery maker SK On is officially pumping out American-made EV batteries. On Tuesday, BlueOval SK announced that it kicked off commercial battery production at its first plant, located in Glendale, Kentucky.

The facility will produce nickel manganese cobalt (NMC) batteries for the F-150 Lightning pickup truck and the E-Transit van. A second BlueOval SK battery plant is under construction in Tennessee, but its launch has been pushed to 2027 amid slower growth in EV demand and the looming expiration of federal EV tax credits on Sept. 30.

The BlueOval SK battery plant in Glendale, Kentucky.

Photo by: Ford

The $5.8 billion Glendale site currently employs about 1,450 workers and could grow to 5,000 if it reaches full capacity. Its inauguration has come after reaping benefits from the Biden administration’s pro-climate policies, mainly the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA). In December 2024, the U.S. Department of Energy awarded BlueOval SK a record $9.3 billion loan to build three battery plants: two in Kentucky and one in Tennessee. At the time, the DOE said the projects would support 5,000 construction jobs and create up to 7,500 operations jobs. 

The investment comes at a time when Ford’s EV sales are under pressure. Crosstown rival General Motors claims that it is now the largest battery producer in the U.S., supplying cells to nearly a dozen EVs that it now has on sale.

Meanwhile, Ford’s EV sales are declining. In the first half of this year, F-150 Lightning deliveries fell nearly 17% to 13,029 units, E-Transit sales dropped 34% to 4,174 whereas Mustang Mach-E sales slipped 2% to 21,785. The declines reflect not only cooling demand but also intensifying competition, with Hyundai, Kia and GM introducing fresh EVs while Ford’s lineup is aging.

Ford’s BlueOval SK battery factory in Tennessee.

Photo by: SK On

Even so, Ford says it remains committed to electrification. Next year, it plans to start making cheaper lithium iron phosphate (LFP) battery cells at its BlueOval Battery Park Michigan using technology licensed from China’s CATL. 

And last week, CEO Jim Farley touted what he called the “Model T moment” of the EV era at the Louisville Assembly Plant. The company will end production of the Escape and Lincoln Corsair crossovers to retool the facility for a next-generation electric truck. Ford says the vehicle will start around $30,000, ride on a new Universal EV Platform and be made using a radically different manufacturing process from 2027.

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