"ROMULUS, Mich. — Ford Motor Co. announced Monday it will build a $3.5 billion electric vehicle battery plant in Michigan that uses Chinese technology, a move the company believes will bolster its ability to take advantage of President Joe Biden’s landmark climate law.

The deal between Ford and China-based Contemporary Amperex Technology Co. Ltd., or CATL, the world’s largest producer of lithium iron phosphate batteries, is landing in the Great Lakes state after Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin, a Republican, said he rejected a proposal to nab the plant, citing concerns around CATL’s connections to the Chinese Communist Party (Climatewire, Jan. 31).

Ford, the nation’s second largest EV manufacturer, said a newly created subsidiary would build and completely own a sprawling complex about 100 miles west of Detroit on land near the town of Marshall."

Hannah Northey reports for E&E News February 13, 2023. [2]