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Ford's new "Ion Park" Battery R&D Lab


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14 hours ago, theoldwizard1 said:

Where, specifically, in Allen Park ?

 

If you are referring to the old Ypsi plant along I94, Ford sold that over 20 years ago.

 

I don't know of any other Ford facilities in Ypsilanti.

I believe the Rawsonville Ford plant is technically in Ypsilanti Township. 

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1 hour ago, Footballfan said:

The day of 100% Evs will never happen- at least for 50 years.  Too many obstacles that nobody wants to pay for, and too much cynicism. 

 

The thing is that governments will force that issue...your argument is the same as what happened with Fuel and Emissions standards almost 50 years ago. 

 

You have to keep in mind that the Auto industry isn't the electronics industry...it takes 18-24 months for changes to happen and platforms last at least 10-15 years to make $$$ on them. Automakers are looking 5 years or longer down the road to try to figure out what the market needs or is forced to have. That is why certain products like the Edge and Nautilus are dead men walking. it makes no sense to come out with a  new product in the next 24 months that is going to have to be replaced in 7 years or so because of BEV requirements. If they came out a year or two ago it would be more worthwhile, but they where deferred because of other products. 

 

I'd venture to guess that by 2040 that 80-90% of the light duty market will be a BEV worldwide. What happens in Medium and Heavy duty is anyones guess at the moment, but it seems like some goverements are hellbent on making them BEV or ZEVs also. 

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11 hours ago, paintguy said:

Is Ford getting their toe wet too late or did the others burn cash too early?

 

The first one, though Ford isn't the only incumbent automaker that "has squandered its ability to be a leader in a space that desperately calls for in-house developed, proprietary technical leadership", as Autoextremist said.

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1 hour ago, silvrsvt said:

I'd venture to guess that by 2040 that 80-90% of the light duty market will be a BEV worldwide. What happens in Medium and Heavy duty is anyones guess at the moment, but it seems like some goverements are hellbent on making them BEV or ZEVs also. 

 

Based on actions that both governments and the automotive industry are taking now, the 80%-90% threshold for BEV percentage of all new vehicle sales should be achieved closer to 2030 than 2040.

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6 hours ago, Footballfan said:

  I think Stellantis is taking the best approach.  Fill the showrooms with "gotta have" product, and work with suppliers for the emerging technology before deciding to bring it in house. 

 

Stellantis have 2 battery plants under construction in Europe, and have indicated plans to build at least one in the U.S..

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Considering how many suppliers are producing batteries (Samsung, LG, SK, Panasonic, etc.) Ford has plenty of choices to get what they need.  No sense rushing in and getting stuck in a dead end technology.  It isn’t like customers are clamoring for a Ford battery cell.

 

I see battery cell production as being similar to chip foundries.  Lots of research and development expense, capital intensive and plenty of opportunities to fail.  There are many successful fabless chip companies (Apple, AMD, NVDIA, QUALCOMM, etc.) and I think automotive will be similar.  Better to invest in getting the most out of the cells chosen and getting to choose from the best available cells than trying to develop them on your own.

 

We will see what comes out of the Ion lab.

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19 hours ago, slemke said:

We will see what comes out of the Ion lab.

 

Yes sir slemke. In the short term, the most important thing that comes from Ion Park lab is developing the vertical integration capabilities Ford desperately needs for manufacturing BEV battery systems including cells. Ford mentioned this in a press release about Ion Park. It said "This world-class 200,000 sq.-ft. learning lab will include pilot-scale equipment for electrode, cell and array design and manufacturing and will use state-of-the-art technology to pilot new manufacturing techniques that will allow Ford to quickly scale breakthrough battery cell designs with novel materials once the company vertically integrates battery cells and batteries."

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2 hours ago, rperez817 said:

 

Yes sir slemke. In the short term, the most important thing that comes from Ion Park lab is developing the vertical integration capabilities Ford desperately needs for manufacturing BEV battery systems including cells. Ford mentioned this in a press release about Ion Park. It said "This world-class 200,000 sq.-ft. learning lab will include pilot-scale equipment for electrode, cell and array design and manufacturing and will use state-of-the-art technology to pilot new manufacturing techniques that will allow Ford to quickly scale breakthrough battery cell designs with novel materials once the company vertically integrates battery cells and batteries."

 

According to Detrout Yes, the building being built now will be close to Henry Ford Museum. And today Ford announced $130 million investment along with BMW in Solid State technology based in Denver area. 

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1 hour ago, FordBuyer said:

 

And today Ford announced $130 million investment along with BMW in Solid State technology based in Denver area. 

 

Here's a Reuters wire story on this:

 

https://www.reuters.com/business/autos-transportation/exclusive-ford-bmw-lead-130-mln-investing-round-solid-state-battery-startup-2021-05-03/

"Ford Motor Co (F.N) and BMW AG (BMWG.DE) are leading a $130 million funding round in a solid-state battery startup, Solid Power, as carmakers push to lower the cost of electric vehicles by investing in the development of affordable but powerful rechargeable batteries, the companies said on Monday.

 

"The Series B investment round, which includes venture capital firm Volta Energy Technologies, allows Solid Power to expand in-house manufacturing capabilities and positions the battery maker to eventually supply future EVs...

 

"Monday's announcement marks the second investment in Solid Power for Ford and Volta Energy. Both participated in the $26 million Series A round in 2018 that included Hyundai Motor Co (005380.KS) and Samsung Electronics (005930.KS).

 

" 'We've been working with more than a dozen different startups in this space and we've been most impressed with the progress that Solid Power has made,' Hau Thai-Tang, Ford's chief product platform and operations officer, said...

 

"Following the latest investments, Ford and BMW will own equal, unidentified stakes in Solid Power, which was established in 2012..."

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7 hours ago, ice-capades said:

Solid State technology will be a game changer for BEV vehicles. 

I hope so.  Otherwise BEVs for the masses will be fantasy land.  Light duty trucks will need a 250kwh+ battery pack to equal/exceed the range of today’s extended range 36 gallon tanks.  The pack needs to be cheap, support high current output and fast recharge over thousands of cycles.  Entry level cars will need a low cost battery that still delivers adequate range and recharge times.  It will be a tall order.  Current battery technology isn’t close enough (yet).

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  • 2 months later...
2 hours ago, rperez817 said:

Ford announced today that its new Ion Park R&D facility will be located in Romulus, Michigan near Detroit Metro Airport. Ford Confirms Romulus, Mich., as Location of Ford Ion Park – Company’s New Global Battery Center of Excellence | Ford Media Center

 

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Bunch of Ford employees and contractors are going to be getting tons of Double Parking, Distracted driving and Speeding tickets form the good old Romulus P.D. 

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39 minutes ago, jasonj80 said:



Bunch of Ford employees and contractors are going to be getting tons of Double Parking, Distracted driving and Speeding tickets form the good old Romulus P.D. 

 

Didn't Romulus PD/City get busted for their tactics a while back in regards to speeding tickets? I believe it was that they were openly offering opting for a larger fine in exchange of no points on your license. 

 

When I was younger I get hit on 275 right by the airport going 15 over. Officer openly told me to show up for court and pay fine with no points on license. Sure enough, he didn't show and court clerk advised us if we paid the fine, no points. Everyone paid the fine.

 

Back on topic, I wonder why they chose Romulus? To be honest, it's kinda a pit. The only thing going for it is being close to DTW. On a good day 20 minutes to Dearborn. 

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44 minutes ago, jcartwright99 said:

Back on topic, I wonder why they chose Romulus? To be honest, it's kinda a pit. The only thing going for it is being close to DTW. On a good day 20 minutes to Dearborn. 

 

Cheap land? Given how office work is going to be going, its not as big of deal if you can work remotely a few days a week. 

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1 hour ago, jcartwright99 said:

 

Didn't Romulus PD/City get busted for their tactics a while back in regards to speeding tickets? I believe it was that they were openly offering opting for a larger fine in exchange of no points on your license. 

 

When I was younger I get hit on 275 right by the airport going 15 over. Officer openly told me to show up for court and pay fine with no points on license. Sure enough, he didn't show and court clerk advised us if we paid the fine, no points. Everyone paid the fine.

 

Back on topic, I wonder why they chose Romulus? To be honest, it's kinda a pit. The only thing going for it is being close to DTW. On a good day 20 minutes to Dearborn. 


Not really busted, they still do it but the county went though and raised the speed limit to 55 on the roads around the airport so they couldn't do it like they used too; they along with Taylor and Allen Park still do the court thing and Huron Township is catching up. They issue under local ordinances so it is no points, no or low court fees, and no money going to the state library fund, all stays local. This way they can fund their 100K plus a year pensions.

Looks like they went to Romulus because the building was built and it was just a rehab, so was faster to open it was a middle finger to Dearborn where the mayor election is dragging Ford into it and how much they pay in tax and that they should pay even more. This was Fords way of saying we can move new investment elsewhere easily so stay in your lane.

 

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1 hour ago, jcartwright99 said:

Back on topic, I wonder why they chose Romulus? To be honest, it's kinda a pit. The only thing going for it is being close to DTW. On a good day 20 minutes to Dearborn. 

 

Tax breaks from the state of Michigan, county of Wayne, and city of Romulus. The site Ford chose (38100 Ecorse Road) used to be operated by A123 Systems and has a "renaissance zone" credit in place until the end of 2025.

Edited by rperez817
2025, not 2015
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1 hour ago, jcartwright99 said:

 

Didn't Romulus PD/City get busted for their tactics a while back in regards to speeding tickets? I believe it was that they were openly offering opting for a larger fine in exchange of no points on your license. 

 

When I was younger I get hit on 275 right by the airport going 15 over. Officer openly told me to show up for court and pay fine with no points on license. Sure enough, he didn't show and court clerk advised us if we paid the fine, no points. Everyone paid the fine.

 

Back on topic, I wonder why they chose Romulus? To be honest, it's kinda a pit. The only thing going for it is being close to DTW. On a good day 20 minutes to Dearborn. 

 

They got a bunch of tax breaks as this old plant is in a Renaissance Zone. 

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17 minutes ago, rperez817 said:

 

Tax breaks from the state of Michigan, county of Wayne, and city of Romulus. The site Ford chose (38100 Ecorse Road) used to be operated by A123 Systems and has a "renaissance zone" credit in place until the end of 2025.

 

Wasn't A123 Systems an EV battery start up?

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41 minutes ago, twintornados said:

 

Wasn't A123 Systems an EV battery start up?

 

Yes sir twintornados. A123 was founded by researchers at MIT to make battery and battery charging products based on lithium iron phosphate chemistry developed at the university. Currently A123 is owned by Wanxiang Group.

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