Sept. 28 (UPI) — Auto giant Ford has announced a major push to move away from fossil fuels and build a new campus in Tennessee in a bid to “lead America’s shift to electric vehicles” — a plan it says will also create thousands of jobs.
The automaker announced late Monday that it will spend $11.4 billion in the effort, which will produce a 3,600-acre campus in western Tennessee and twin lithium-ion battery plants in central Kentucky.
The project is a partnership with South Korea-based SK Innovation. Ford said the move is the largest-ever single EV investment in U.S. history.
The $5.6 billion “mega campus,” to be called Blue Oval City, and the plants will begin operating in 2025.
Ford said the Stanton, Tenn., campus will include its largest battery plant and will be its “largest, most advanced, most efficient auto production complex” in company history. Stanton is located about 40 miles northeast of Memphis.
We’re building our first mega campus in more than a generation. The all-new mega campus just outside of Memphis, called Blue Oval City, aspires to have 100% renewable energy, zero waste to landfill, and reusing every drop of water, to ensure our planet is in it for the long haul. pic.twitter.com/O97N9X3ek2— Ford Motor Company (@Ford) September 27, 2021
The automaker said its six-mile campus will be carbon-neutral, use recycled water and recycle its materials.
“This is a transformative moment,” Ford Executive Chairman Bill Ford said in a statement. “With this investment and a spirit of innovation, we can achieve goals once thought mutually exclusive — protect our planet, build great electric vehicles Americans … and contribute to our nation’s prosperity.”
Ford said it expects the project to create about 11,000 jobs.
In Monday’s announcement, the company also announced a $525 million nationwide investment to train and develop electric auto technicians.
Ford announced a partnership with SK Innovation in May to produce EV batteries in the United States.
COMMENTS
Please let us know if you're having issues with commenting.