Anjani Trivedi is a Bloomberg Opinion columnist covering industrial companies in Asia.
There it is again: Another automaker makes a big announcement about its electrification plans with a battery manufacturer. Going by previous proclamations, that’s not just ambitious but far-fetched.
Ford Motor Company and SK Innovation Company announced that they are partnering to spend $11.4 billion on three electric-car battery plants across the United States, making it the most sizable investment in the automaker’s 118-year-history.
The deal to build the biggest battery plant ever in America would catapult the South Korean firm to the status of a leading battery maker in the US and is also its largest single outlay. All very big.
It comes at a time when US President Joe Biden’s administration has been talking up electric vehicle subsidies, including tax credits. In addition, anything made in the United States or with higher domestic content, including battery cells, would get more government support. That’s on top of a new national blueprint for lithium-ion batteries, making it perfect timing for Ford and SK Innovation’s blockbuster investment.
For the rest of this column: https://www.livemint.com/opinion/columns/another-major-ev-battery-play-that-will-face-rather-steep-odds-11632934622244.html