Will Ford go to CATL battery?

[Vallee]

Will ever change battery chemistry? To get better range.

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[KevinC]

Anything's possible. Ford is currently using a combination of LG and SK innovation and plan to use CATL for the LFP. Part of their goal is to License some of the technology so that Ford technically builds some of the batteries using the tech from other producers. In theory their blue oval battery plant could be making batteries using technology from multiple companies in a few years. Battery technology is so fluid at the moment I don't think Ford should tie itself to any one manufacturer too tightly and they don't seem to be. They even have a side bet with Solid Power(solid state).

 

[Ventorum94]

Will ever change battery chemistry? To get better range.

I don’t think the floated change to LFP will be for better range. It will impact the SR battery pack (not the ER), will result in a heavier pack (probably SR pack comparable weight to ER pack), and lower cost to Ford. Advantages will be: LFP can charge to 100% frequently, without battery degradation (so I suppose “usable” range would be increased, compared to regular charging to only 80% or 90%). Also, the number of lifetime charging cycles is greatly increased (LFP=“million mile battery”). Also, safety: LFP batteries don’t rapidly release energy when punctured- no battery fires! Finally, there is the potential for faster charging, if the LFP pack is more resilient under abusive charging rates.
All of this would apply only to the SR pack, as Ford has announced no intentions to change the chemistry of the ER pack.

 

[sotek2345]

I don’t think the floated change to LFP will be for better range. It will impact the SR battery pack (not the ER), will result in a heavier pack (probably SR pack comparable weight to ER pack), and lower cost to Ford. Advantages will be: LFP can charge to 100% frequently, without battery degradation (so I suppose “usable” range would be increased, compared to regular charging to only 80% or 90%). Also, the number of lifetime charging cycles is greatly increased (LFP=“million mile battery”). Also, safety: LFP batteries don’t rapidly release energy when punctured- no battery fires! Finally, there is the potential for faster charging, if the LFP pack is more resilient under abusive charging rates.
All of this would apply only to the SR pack, as Ford has announced no intentions to change the chemistry of the ER pack.

A couple other likely impacts of the new SR LFP packs

1) Likely power peak torque / HP since LFP doesn't like to be discharged as aggressively as NMC. could be partially / wholly offset if Ford increases the pack voltage, but that remains to be seen.

2) Lower max payload in SR trucks due to heavier battery

3) Likely worse cold weather impact, though this could be partially mitigated with insulation and thermal management strategies.

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