Driving the news: Ford $F ( ▼ 0.19% ) is pushing forward with its $3 billion Michigan battery factory despite the risk that Congress could eliminate the tax incentives that make the project financially viable.
For context: The Marshall plant will produce lithium-iron-phosphate batteries using technology licensed from Chinese company CATL. The facility is 60% complete, and will create 1,700 jobs when finished.
Why it matters: While consumer EV tax credits get most attention, manufacturers likely care more about production tax credits. Ford could receive $35 per kilowatt-hour for each U.S.-made cell and $10 per battery pack. With 20 GWh of annual capacity, that adds up to potentially $900 million per year (offsetting almost one-third of Ford's investment). But Congress is expected to vote this week on a budget bill that could wipe out these incentives.
What they’re saying: "When EV adoption slowed, it just became a huge headwind. The production tax credit allows us to keep on this path,” said Lisa Drake, Ford’s VP of Technology Platform Programs and EV Systems (via The Detroit News). “Ford is a company that will weather the storm until we get there, but there's a great opportunity to help, not only Ford, but all of the auto sector, stay in this game and keep these battery jobs here. And now it's going to just be up to the administration."
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