Auto giant Ford announced a new subsidiary Monday to manufacture and sell batteries for the grid and data centers, signaling how surging electricity demand is changing the energy sector.
Ford Energy is eyeing production of 20 gigawatt-hours of batteries annually, with first deliveries planned for late 2027. The company joins automakers Tesla and GM in manufacturing batteries to meet growing demand for power and grid storage.
“The convergence of data center growth, renewable energy integration, and grid resilience requirements has created a gap in the market,” Ford Energy President Lisa Drake wrote in a blog post. She was appointed to lead the new subsidiary in January.
Ford plans to manufacture its products for “utilities, data centers and large industrial and commercial customers” at its Glendale, Kentucky, factory, which was originally intended to produce electric vehicle batteries. The company plans to “span full battery cell manufacturing —including production of electrode coils — and assembly of modules and assembly of modules and containers.”
