The U.S. Department of Energy has announced the completion of a $9.63 billion loan to BlueOval SK, a joint venture between Ford Motor Company and South Korea’s SK On. This significant loan will support the construction of three electric vehicle (EV) battery manufacturing plants located in Kentucky and Tennessee.
This represents the largest loan ever granted under the Advanced Technology Vehicles Manufacturing (ATVM) program, exceeding the $9.2 billion conditional commitment announced in June 2023. Blue Oval SK’s facilities are set to deliver over 120 gigawatt-hours of annual battery production, marking a major boost to domestic EV manufacturing capacity in the United States.
BlueOval SK is investing $11 billion to establish these state-of-the-art, four-million-square-foot plants. The first facility in Kentucky is scheduled to commence production in 2025, with the Tennessee plant following later that year. This initiative is critical to Ford’s strategy to accelerate the production of batteries for its next-generation electric vehicles. SK On, the battery division of SK Innovation, will provide advanced lithium-ion technology for this endeavour.
This development aligns with the Biden administration’s broader efforts to incentivize clean energy technologies and strengthen domestic EV production. Recently, the Energy Department has announced additional loans, including a proposed $7.54 billion for Stellantis and Samsung SDI to construct two EV battery plants in Indiana, and $6.6 billion for Rivian to establish a facility in Georgia focused on producing smaller, affordable EVs.
In December 2022, the Energy Department finalized a $2.5 billion loan to a joint venture between General Motors and LG Energy Solution, aimed at building three lithium-ion battery factories across Ohio, Tennessee, and Michigan.
Source: EVMagz
