Photo: Ford
For all intents and purposes, the Mach-E is, for now, the only electric vehicle in Ford’s lineup. It will not be the only one, of course, in the future, and knowing this, the carmaker decided to better prepare for what lies ahead.
Enter the Ion Park, a campus of sorts located in southeast Michigan, which is to become the “new global battery center of excellence.” It is here where Ford will assemble the best and brightest 150 experts in the field of battery production and from where all future breakthroughs in this field are expected to come.
The team will be led by 30-year Ford veteran Anand Sankaran, one of the driving forces behind some of the carmaker’s latest advancements in electrification, including the Escape Hybrid, Mustang Mach-E, and F-150 Hybrid. Aside from the manpower, he will have a 200,000-sq-ft, $185-million laboratory at his disposal where he can conduct his business.
The creation of the Ion Park is one of the steps Ford needs to make if it is to stick to its plan of pouring $22 billion into electrified vehicles by the middle of the decade. No exact project the team will be working on was announced, apart from the fact it will be focusing on everything from the development and manufacturing of lithium-ion and solid-state batteries to mining the elements needed for them and recycling.
According to Ford, the team's ultimate goal is to provide better range and lower cost for future batteries. “We are creating new tools and solutions we need for a carbon-free, affordable and better future,” Hau Thai-Tang, Ford's chief product platform and operations officer, said in a statement.
“We are modernizing Ford’s battery development and manufacturing capabilities so we can better control costs and production variables in-house and scale production around the world with speed and quality.”
The team will be led by 30-year Ford veteran Anand Sankaran, one of the driving forces behind some of the carmaker’s latest advancements in electrification, including the Escape Hybrid, Mustang Mach-E, and F-150 Hybrid. Aside from the manpower, he will have a 200,000-sq-ft, $185-million laboratory at his disposal where he can conduct his business.
The creation of the Ion Park is one of the steps Ford needs to make if it is to stick to its plan of pouring $22 billion into electrified vehicles by the middle of the decade. No exact project the team will be working on was announced, apart from the fact it will be focusing on everything from the development and manufacturing of lithium-ion and solid-state batteries to mining the elements needed for them and recycling.
According to Ford, the team's ultimate goal is to provide better range and lower cost for future batteries. “We are creating new tools and solutions we need for a carbon-free, affordable and better future,” Hau Thai-Tang, Ford's chief product platform and operations officer, said in a statement.
“We are modernizing Ford’s battery development and manufacturing capabilities so we can better control costs and production variables in-house and scale production around the world with speed and quality.”
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