Photo: Ford
Ford Motor Co. and the University of Michigan have announced the opening of a new battery lab that will help the automaker develop smaller, lighter and cheaper batteries for electric vehicles.
The new facility cost $8 million to build and Ford says it “will use state-of-the-art manufacturing methods to create test batteries that replicate the performance of full-scale production batteries, allowing for faster implementation in future production vehicles.”
Ford invested $2.1 million in the new testing facility, while the rest of the money came from the University of Michigan, the US Department of Energy and the Michigan Economic Development Corporation.
"We have battery labs that test and validate production-ready batteries, but that is too late in the development process for us to get our first look," said Ted Miller, who manages battery research for Ford. "This lab will give us a stepping-stone between the research lab and the production environment, and a chance to have input much earlier in the development process. This is sorely needed, and no one else in the auto industry has anything like it."
Last year, the Blue Oval company invested no less than $135 million in design, engineering and production of key battery components, doubling battery testing capabilities and accelerating durability testing.
Ford invested $2.1 million in the new testing facility, while the rest of the money came from the University of Michigan, the US Department of Energy and the Michigan Economic Development Corporation.
"We have battery labs that test and validate production-ready batteries, but that is too late in the development process for us to get our first look," said Ted Miller, who manages battery research for Ford. "This lab will give us a stepping-stone between the research lab and the production environment, and a chance to have input much earlier in the development process. This is sorely needed, and no one else in the auto industry has anything like it."
Last year, the Blue Oval company invested no less than $135 million in design, engineering and production of key battery components, doubling battery testing capabilities and accelerating durability testing.
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