Ford and SK On will receive $9.63 billion in government debt for their BlueOval SK batteries joint venture, according to a report Monday in Reuters.
The news raises the value of the original loan, which was $9.2 billion, the New York Times reported in June.
The Energy Department loan—the largest so far by the Biden administration related to EV production—will help finance the construction of battery plants in Kentucky and Tennessee.
Ford announced the plants in 2021, citing a record investment of $11.4 billion and the creation of nearly 11,000 new jobs at two major manufacturing facilities. The automaker and SK On said in 2021 that the BlueOval SK joint venture would target 60 gigawatt hours of annual battery cell production by the middle of the decade.
BlueOvalSK Battery Park – handover, September 2021
Plans include Blue Oval City, in western Tennessee, and BlueOval SK Battery Park, with twin battery plants in the same location, in central Kentucky. Ford says they will build both facilities in 2021, and plan to be operational by 2025.
The Blue Oval City includes not only a battery factory, but also a supplier park and an assembly plant that will produce electric trucks, including the next-generation F-150 Lightning. SK On already manufactures current generation lightning cells in Georgia.
The BlueOval SK Battery Park complex in central Kentucky will house two battery cells that power the upcoming Ford and Lincoln EVs.
BlueOvalSK Battery Park – handover, September 2021
In addition to the BlueOval SK facilities, Ford in February announced an agreement with CATL for a $3.5 billion battery plant in Marshall, Michigan. The automaker also continues to assemble the Mustang Mach-E in Mexico using LG cells sourced from the Polish factory.
The Energy Department's loan is the largest so far under a renewed program that was once used by the Obama administration to fund Tesla, Nissan, and Ford, among others, but has been ignored by the Trump administration. Under President Biden, the Energy Department extended a $2 billion loan to Tesla veteran JB Straubel for battery recycling company Redwood Materials and a $2.5 billion loan to General Motors' LG-affiliated Ultium Cells LLC.
Note – This story has been updated to reflect the new loan amount as of December