• Air

Future of EV Batteries from CA’s Salton Sea and the Shores of Lake MI

• batteries
• electric vehicles
• EVs
• Ford
• geothermal energy
• lithium
• lithium batteries

New electric vehicle battery capacity is cropping up across the U.S. — places like the Hell’s Kitchen Lithium and Power in California’s Imperial Valley where they are extracting lithium from the Salton Sea, and Ion Park, a “pilot facility” where Ford Motors will eventually produce batteries.

Why This Matters:  With EV sales expected to increase, particularly given the Biden Administration’s emphasis on their development, lithium is in such high demand that experts refer to it as “white gold.“

• Energy

EV Battery Production in Georgia Charges Ahead Thanks To Settlement

• battery
• cars
• electric vehicles
• EVs
• Ford
• LG Energy
• SK Innovation
• VW

Scaling production of EVs in the U.S. will require a ramp-up in domestic battery production. Now there’s good news on that front. A battery factory in Georgia can move forward after LG Energy Solution and SK Innovation (South Korean companies), two of the world’s biggest electric vehicle battery manufacturers, settled a dispute. 

Why This Matters: The dispute threatened U.S. production of EVs. SK has contracts to produce batteries for electric Ford F-150 pickup trucks and Volkswagen SUVs.

• People

One Fast Thing: NASCAR Puts EV Mustang to the Test 

• electric vehicles
• EVs
• Ford

The new Ford Mustang Mach-E reenvisions the classic American muscle car for the clean energy era. It’s gotten solid reviews from the tech and car geeks, but what do actual NACAR drivers think of this 1400 horsepower EV? Their need for speed seemed to have been fulfilled based on their smiling faces after a test drive […]

• Sustainability

Ford and HP Team Up to Recycle 3D Printing Waste into Auto Parts

• 3D printer
• auto parts
• Ford
• Hewlett-Packard
• recycle
• waste

Ford has teamed up with Hewlett-Packard (HP) to turn spent 3D-printed powder and parts into stronger, lighter, and more cost-effective vehicle parts. The recycled, injection-molded parts will first be used on Ford’s Super Duty F-250 trucks and have better chemical and moisture resistance than conventional versions. 

Why This Matters: 3D printing makes use of plastic and metal powders that, when disposed of in landfills, can contaminate groundwater and end up in the air, harming human health.

• Air

Ford Urges Unity, While GM Gets Stung By The Bee

• Clean Car Rule
• EVs
• Ford
• GM
• rollback

Ford Motors is urging the other major car companies that had backed President Trump’s looser tailpipe standards to instead embrace the clean air standards set by California, according to The Detroit News.  President Trump’s policy split the automakers into two camps — but the Biden administration is expected to tighten emissions standards again.

Why This Matters:  Some may forgive GM for its wrong turn following the Trump administration, but others won’t forget. 

• Air

Ford Adding EV Jobs in Michigan and Missouri – Wants to Be “The Change”

• EV
• Ford
• Ford Motor Company
• Michigan
• Transit van
• union jobs

Ford Motor Company announced last week that it is adding hundreds of union jobs in the midwestern states of Michigan and Missouri coupled with investments of hundreds of millions in several existing plants.

Why This Matters: The company appears ready for a new Biden administration — it even ran an ad during Sunday NFL games called “The Change” to publicize its commitment to lowering its carbon footprint.