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Area Development - Site Selection, Facility Planning and Workforce Development

Ford Invests $8 Million To Open Electric Vehicle Battery Development Lab At University of Michigan

10/15/2013
Ford Motor Company invested $8 million to develop a battery development laboratory at the University of Michigan’s Phoenix Memorial Laboratory in Ann Arbor, Michigan designed to discover more efficient methods of powering electrified vehicles.

The world-class facility at the University of Michigan will allow Ford to collaborate 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 The facility will test experimental battery chemistries while reducing the risk and cost to suppliers.

A new $8 million battery lab at the University of Michigan that will help Ford develop batteries that are smaller, lighter and less expensive to produce, the auto company said. The work could accelerate development of battery-powered vehicles that are more efficient and affordable than today's models and that go farther on a single charge.

The lab is a battery manufacturing facility designed to support pilot projects. State-of-the-art manufacturing methods will be used to make test batteries that replicate the performance of full-scale production batteries, allowing for faster implementation in future production vehicles.

"We have battery labs that test and validate production-ready batteries, but that is too late in the development process for us to get our first look," said Ted Miller, who manages battery research for Ford. "This lab will give us a stepping-stone between the research lab and the production environment, and a chance to have input much earlier in the development process. This is sorely needed, and no one else in the auto industry has anything like it."

"It is way too early in the battery race to commit to one type of battery chemistry," said Miller. "In the span of 15 years, the industry has gone from lead-acid to nickel-metal-hydride to the lithium-ion batteries used in Ford C-MAX and Ford Fusion hybrids on the road today. Others in the auto industry have placed their bets, but we are convinced a better solution will require input from a multitude of partners."

The lab is the result of collaboration between Ford, battery suppliers, the University of Michigan, and the state and federal governments. Ford contributed $2.1 million to the project. The University of Michigan’s College of Engineering provided $900,000 to the project and spent $18 million to renovate its Energy Institute’s Phoenix Memorial Lab, the Michigan Economic Development Corporation approved a $5 million grant and the U.S. Department of Energy also contributed to the project.

Miller said locating the lab on a university campus will be a draw for battery suppliers to work on complex problems in a common environment. "We need to work on these problems together in a neutral lab setting," he said. "This way, we all win. I think you are going to see a lot of companies in the battery supply chain come to Michigan to use this facility, in very short order.

"This is important for the state of Michigan, too," Miller added. "Previous investments have been focused on battery production, and now our state becomes a research core for batteries. The University of Michigan benefits, because the best and brightest from car companies, suppliers and academia will come here. In turn, that will attract the best students. We need to nurture the next generation of battery scientists, and it helps Ford that the campus is less than 40 miles from Dearborn."

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