Jim Farley, CEO of Ford, comments on the significance of local supply chains for nickel and lithium for batteries used in electric vehicles. Ford is investing billions of dollars in electric vehicles (EVs), but battery supply chains could stand in the way of those ambitions. Farley noted that lithium and nickel are the key constraining commodities, and the U.S. is actively trying to localize the mining and processing of these materials.
Critical minerals
According to the International Energy Agency, 10% of all car sales worldwide in 2021 were electric vehicles. (IEA). According to BloombergNEF, the Inflation Reduction Act tax incentives will cause EV sales to account for 50% of all automobile sales in the United States by 2030. The demand for the valuable minerals used in batteries will rise along with the popularity of electric vehicles such as automobiles and trucks. Lawmakers and people in the mining sector have expressed concern about the availability of minerals, and this might put the world’s supply networks for mining and processing minerals to the test. Lithium, cobalt, manganese, nickel, and graphite are the five minerals that have been designated as “critical” to the EV transition.
Ford stated that as part of its $50 billion worldwide drive toward electrification, it will invest $3.5 billion in a new battery facility in Marshall, Michigan. Due to restructuring efforts and significant expenditures in EVs, the carmaker reported a $2.1 billion loss in its Model E electric business in 2022 and anticipates a $3 billion loss in 2023. By 2026, Ford expects to have all the raw ingredients necessary to produce 2 million batteries.
