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Area Development - Site Selection, Facility Planning and Workforce Development

Ford Motor Company Plans Romulus, Michigan, Battery Center Of Excellence

08/03/2021
Ford Motor Company will invest $100 million to locate its new global battery center of excellence at its plant in Romulus, Michigan. The project is expected to create 200 jobs within 18 months of completion of renovation.

According to state officials, this investment will include the purchase and renovation of the existing building on the site to support product development and manufacturing process research related to vehicle battery applications. A new collaborative learning lab will use state-of-the-art technology to pilot new manufacturing techniques that will allow Ford to research and quickly scale breakthrough battery cell designs with novel materials as part of its plan to vertically integrate battery cells and batteries.

“We are thankful for the support of the MEDC and the Michigan Strategic Fund in helping establish Ford Ion Park in Romulus,” said Anand Sankaran, Ford Ion Park director. “The new lab will help Ford speed up the battery development process to deliver even more capable, affordable batteries and is part of Ford’s renewed commitment to making Michigan a centerpiece of its focus on EVs.”

To support this investment, the Michigan Strategic Fund has approved a transfer of the existing Renaissance Zone to Ford. Today's action allows the company to utilize the Renaissance Zone support for the remaining four years of the designation. The Zone has been in effect since January 1, 2011 and is set to expire December 31, 2025. Renaissance Zones are utilized to encourage new jobs and investment by providing a market-based incentive of reduced state and local taxes.

“Ford’s investment in battery research and development in Romulus will support hundreds of good-paying jobs, attract innovative talent to Michigan, and help us continue leading the world in advanced mobility and manufacturing,” said Governor Gretchen Whitmer. “Ford is an American icon that has left its mark on the world over a century, and with the research that will take place at Ford Ion Park, they will shape the next century while reducing emissions and accelerating electrification. This investment will help us continue our economic jumpstart and help us build back stronger than ever.”

From mines to recycling, the Ford Ion Park team is working with experts across the company, including experts at Ford’s previously announced Battery Benchmarking and Test Laboratory, Ford Customer Service Division, plus key suppliers and partners, state officials noted.

“Michigan has the expertise and collaborative ecosystem to ensure companies can innovate and develop future transportation solutions and then bring those solutions to life with a workforce that builds and assembles the best vehicles driving the roads today,” said Quentin Messer, Jr. CEO of the Michigan Economic Development Corporation and President and Chair of the Michigan Strategic Fund. “Ford’s global battery center of excellence demonstrates the strength of the talent in the state’s R&D and automotive sectors and will ensure we can win the future of mobility and EV manufacturing right here in Michigan.”

As part of Ford’s $30 billion investment in electrification by 2025, and a renewed commitment to making Michigan a centerpiece of it focus on EVs, the Governor’s Office said the company also committed to assemble its all-new, all-electric Ford F-150 Lightning, with foreign and domestic parts, at the Rouge Electric Vehicle Center in Dearborn, Michigan, adding 500 new jobs with the support of the Good Jobs for Michigan Program. Ford also repositioned its half-century-old Van Dyke Transmission Plant in May, renaming it the Van Dyke Electric Powertrain Center and expanding its production line to produce electric motors and electric transaxles for hybrid and fully electric vehicles, retaining a total of 225 Michigan jobs.

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