We then learned that Ford will keep the Kentucky plant and SK On will get the plant in Tennessee, which will focus on the energy storage business instead. Now, we know something similar will happen at the Kentucky plant — Ford says it’s spending $2 billion to convert the factory to make prismatic lithium iron phosphate (LFP) cells.
Ford says they’re not destined for EVs, but they are the preferred cell format for data centers. The company says it will bring the factory online in the next 18 months, bringing annual production to 20 GW.
Other Ford plants are also being revamped. With no full-size BEV pickup in the product plans, the assembly plant in Tennessee that was supposed to produce it — near the battery factory that keeps SK on board — will build new gas-powered trucks instead, though not for the next four years. Around the same time, its Ohio Assembly Plant will begin building new commercial vehicles.
All this will impact Ford’s earnings by $19.5 billion over the next few years, of which $5.5 billion will be in cash. Ford said the majority of this will be impacted in the last quarter of 2025, but will extend through 2027.
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