Ford plans to develop and produce electric vehicle batteries

Ford wants to control the key technology for electric vehicles, so it plans to build a battery development center near Detroit by the end of next year

DETROIT -- Saying that it wants to control the key technology for electric vehicles, Ford plans to open a battery development center near Detroit by the end of next year. The company said the 200,000-square-foot facility will have equipment to design, test and even do small-scale manufacturing of battery cells and packs. The lab also will develop electronic controls and other items as Ford moves more of the process in-house. Eventually the company wants to do large-scale manufacturing of its own batteries globally, a task now performed by supply companies. Like many global automakers who have been stung by computer chip and other supply chain shortages, Ford wants to make sure it has enough batteries for what it says is an accelerating transition away from internal combustion engines.