Ford & SK On end joint US battery venture BlueOval SK

[CD4TNF]

Seen in my local news today:

"While Beshear runs for president, he has saddled Kentucky taxpayers with a $250 million-plus disaster.

Today, SK bailed on the BlueOval SK joint venture, handing Ford full ownership of the Glendale battery plants amid collapsing EV sales—Ford's F-150 Lightning sales fell 72% in November alone. One plant began initial operations earlier this year but is running well below capacity; the second is still under construction, with production delayed indefinitely.

Beshear and the GOP legislature rammed through this deal in 2021 and gave Ford:

- $250 million zero-interest forgivable loan

- $36 million in training funds

- $25 million for a college center

- A free 1,551-acre site

Total: over $300 million in taxpayer handouts.

Guess who got the sweet multibillion-dollar construction contract?

Gray Construction—a family-owned firm where Transportation Secretary Jim Gray served as former CEO and chairman before his 2019 cabinet appointment. Partnering with Barton Malow, they’ve poured millions in concrete while Beshear tours the site like it’s his pet project.

Smells like backroom payoffs: appoint a connected insider to the cabinet, then steer state-backed mega-deals their way.

Ford could now dangle its 12,000+ Louisville jobs (Kentucky Truck Plant, Louisville Assembly) over Frankfort’s head, threatening to pull all Kentucky manufacturing unless the loan is forgiven—even if they don’t hit job numbers.

We’ve seen EV hype crash before—GM’s idle $2 billion plants and Michigan’s $237 million ghost factory.

This wasn’t economic development—it’s a raw, dirty backroom deal that’s going to leave Kentuckians holding the bag."

I'm not convinced to blame a Democratic governor for the best laid plans for jobs and economic opportunity. The strategy was sound to get America on a path towards advancing clean energy and battery manufacturing. Jobs and manufacturing were booming before the strategy shift.

The tragedy is America has lost its chance at a technology edge. We lost our chance at becoming a technology powerhouse at battery technology. Our best battery scientists have fled to a country that has the money and values the tech. The financial appetite to invest in batteries for America is over. There is no way in the next decades for American, EU, and South Korean battery technology to catch up to China.

It's not a far stretch to see the national security concerns. The amount of drone warfare in Ukraine shows the value in powering drones with batteries. LFP and Solid state batteries that are light weight can give drones more payload capacity. More boom.

For mobility, Russia is using e-motorcycles to assault because of the quiet drive and ability to spread out against drones. More need for better EV batteries.

The future is EV battery technology is needed today. With an eviscerated Li battery production in the States. We have little chance at a national secure supply chain for EVs, defense weaponry and drone batteries.

The tragedy is how far America is behind. It's equivalent to the highschool dummy squealing with joy at how dumb he is. That's the scam being sold to Americans. That's the scam being promoted in that article. America is celebrating how dumb we intentionally became. We are not on a winning strategy.

Concluding this vent session. Ford, SK On, the clean energy economy. Investing in the future is never a sure thing for a return. We take those risks because the human condition will never know what's possible without risking it all. The potential to become the best at doing something wonderful and technology great. Technologically and morally necessary for humanity's future survival. It's disappointing that bright potential path is over and closed.


(See below for the economy damages projected:

• https://energyinnovation.org/wp-content/uploads/OBBBA-impacts-on-Kentucky.pdf
• https://cleaneconomytracker.org/state-fact-sheets/)

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[Kev12345]

I don't know.....I mean is CATL that much greater at making batteries as anyone else currently, or is it just because they seem to be advancing pretty fast? I'm genuinely asking.

Naxtra sodium will be the game changer for cheap EV's. There's almost no reason for LFP.

Key CATL Battery Types for 2026

• Naxtra Sodium-Ion Batteries: CATL is ramping up to full mass production and supply of these batteries in 2026. Key features include:
  • High Safety & Low Cost: They use abundant sodium, reducing reliance on lithium, and are expected to be significantly cheaper than traditional lithium-ion batteries.
  • Superior Cold Weather Performance: They retain 90% usable power at extremely low temperatures, down to -40°C, addressing a major weakness of traditional LFP batteries.
  • Performance: They achieve an energy density of 175 Wh/kg, comparable to current LFP batteries, sufficient for an estimated 500 km (310 miles) of EV range.
• Shenxing Pro LFP Batteries: This second-generation LFP battery focuses on ultra-fast charging and long range, with European production beginning in early 2026.
  • Range & Speed: 205 Wh/kg. It offers a range of up to 650 km (400 miles) and features a "12C" charging rate, meaning a full charge could theoretically take just five minutes (though this rate is limited by charging infrastructure).
  • Durability: The battery is designed for a lifespan of over 10,000 cycles.
• 8-Series High-Nickel NCM Batteries: 500 Wh/kg. CATL plans to launch a new high-nickel (about 80% nickel) NCM battery pack in 2026, aimed at premium and range-extended vehicles that require higher energy density and lighter weight. This is the 1500 km (900 mile) battery.

 

[Ventorum94]

I would wager sales dropped in November because of the swell of demand in September and October clearing out all the vehicles tied to rebates. They either need to drop the price, add more features (range?) or expect a very low new normal EV volume. Used EVs are also a very good deal now which is putting big pressure on the new EV sales. Why pay $80k for a lightning when you get a 3 year old one for less than half price?

Google AI says F150 typically depreciates 27%-49% in first three years. Lightnings may depreciate more, but it’s not a huge gap (and a Lightning purchased with EV tax credit had $7500 of depreciation from MSRP already covered!) Also, a Lightning purchased today is apt to have significant incentive discounts from MSRP, likely more so than ICE F150.

 

[FloridaMan655321]

Just another reason I wish Tesla made a normal truck......

 

[Scorpio3d]

I'm not convinced to blame a Democratic governor for the best laid plans for jobs and economic opportunity. The strategy was sound to get America on a path towards advancing clean energy and battery manufacturing. Jobs and manufacturing were booming before the strategy shift.

The tragedy is America has lost its chance at a technology edge. We lost our chance at becoming a technology powerhouse at battery technology. Our best battery scientists have fled to a country that has the money and values the tech. The financial appetite to invest in batteries for America is over. There is no way in the next decades for American, EU, and South Korean battery technology to catch up to China.

It's not a far stretch to see the national security concerns. The amount of drone warfare in Ukraine shows the value in powering drones with batteries. LFP and Solid state batteries that are light weight can give drones more payload capacity. More boom.

For mobility, Russia is using e-motorcycles to assault because of the quiet drive and ability to spread out against drones. More need for better EV batteries.

The future is EV battery technology is needed today. With an eviscerated Li battery production in the States. We have little chance at a national secure supply chain for EVs, defense weaponry and drone batteries.

The tragedy is how far America is behind. It's equivalent to the highschool dummy squealing with joy at how dumb he is. That's the scam being sold to Americans. That's the scam being promoted in that article. America is celebrating how dumb we intentionally became. We are not on a winning strategy.

Concluding this vent session. Ford, SK On, the clean energy economy. Investing in the future is never a sure thing for a return. We take those risks because the human condition will never know what's possible without risking it all. The potential to become the best at doing something wonderful and technology great. Technologically and morally necessary for humanity's future survival. It's disappointing that bright potential path is over and closed.


(See below for the economy damages projected:

• https://energyinnovation.org/wp-content/uploads/OBBBA-impacts-on-Kentucky.pdf
• https://cleaneconomytracker.org/state-fact-sheets/)

Agreed!
We screwed the pooch years ago when China had their China 2025 or whatever it was called.
They had a vision and have kicked our ass more or less. This is may be the only advantage of an authoritarian government you can kind of force everybody to row in the same direction.
We did the same thing in the 60s with the space race.
We did the same thing during the Reagan era, the massive investments in military technology.
Unfortunately, being green became a politically divisive issue. The blame for that is on both parties!

 

[TaxmanHog]

This is may be the only advantage of an authoritarian government you can kind of force everybody to row in the same direction.

For this reason I can not support anything from this country until Taiwan takes it over and frees the chinese citizens from their bondage to the CCP.

 

[Scorpio3d]

For this reason I can not support anything from this country until Taiwan takes it over and frees the chinese citizens from their bondage to the CCP.

Unfortunately, it’s most likely going to go the other way without us, but I totally agree!

 

[Adventureboy]

Sorry to burst your bubble, but they have plenty to sell. There are 64 within 100 miles of me. So yeah they have enough inventory. The challenge is the price. For way to many years October 2023 to now, @Ford Motor Company had heavily incentivized the sales of the numbers they had, including reducing the cost of a Lariat to have the MSRP of $79,999.99 so more would qualify for the tax credit.

I bought mine prior to the incentive massacre, and less then a year later I could have bought my exact same truck for $5,000-$10,000 of MSRP plus the tax credit. So a $73,500 Lightning for say $$55,000-$60,000 out the door and there are hundred of post on this forum of people doing even better then that in 2024.

Sadly the market really was not there for the $70,000-$100,000 EV trucks that Ford, Chevy, and even Rivian thought there was to meet scale to truly be profitable. Most of us don’t daily tow, so range was less of an issue. Most of us don’t have each seat filled with people every day. So sadly a lot of us would have or could have considered a Ranger sized version of it would it have been in the $40,000-$50,000 range and had in the 250-275 mile range. That is the reality they are facing.

While I can only speak for myself, I would have rather had the Ranger sized version at this point, as I also have a M3 for when I want more in city driving and parking where the lightning is just too much. So I truly could have loved a smaller option if available when I made the decision 2.5 years ago.

No bubble burst here. Availability seems to be regional. We have no Lightnings at my local dealer and they've previously had 5-6 on the lot. To my north, there is 1 left at a dealer 20 miles away - they've always had 8-10 on the lot last year. To my South, there is a larger dealer 15 miles away - they have none, but it's interesting that they are taking pre-orders for 2026 at premium prices. There are none at one of our larger dealers 50 miles away. If I look at 150-mile radius, it seems there are 12 trucks available, but I take that with a grain of salt because dealers around here leave listings up far after the truck is gone. We have almost none here. I stand by my original statement that they can't sell what they don't have - at least here. GM hit the market this time last year so now there is also established competition.

No incentives here anymore, and I didn't get an incentive when I bought mine. We benefit from lower electricity costs than most, so the math didn't need an incentive to work.

Agree on the midsize segment. That gap needs to be filled. Personally, I've always used the full capacity of the full-sized pickup but could probably start to think about a smaller option going forward.

 

[Tony Burgh]

This was a fun thread to read. Actually, 3 fun threads to read.

 

[Ventorum94]

For this reason I can not support anything from this country until Taiwan takes it over and frees the chinese citizens from their bondage to the CCP.

Thanks for saying that- I wish more Americans agreed. It is rare and refreshing to read what is seldom acknowledged today, but was once universally recognized: Taiwan is the free Republic of China, and the rightful government of the Chinese people.

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