The facility will allow Ford Motor to cooperate with battery cell manufacturers, suppliers, university researchers and startups to test new battery concepts on a small scale that could be replicated for full production.
Ford Motor manager battery research Ted Miller said this lab will give the company a stepping-stone between the research lab and the production environment, and a chance to have input much earlier in the development process
The lab is the result of collaboration between Ford Motor, the University of Michigan, Michigan Economic Development Corporation and the US Department of Energy.
Ford Motor’s electrified vehicle lineup includes five models equipped with advanced lithium-ion batteries.
Lithium-ion batteries are about 25% to 30% smaller and compared to the earlier nickel-metal-hydride batteries, the new Lithium-ion batteries can provide about three times the power per cell.
