Ford and SK’s joint venture, BlueOval SK, would use the funds to build three electric vehicle battery plants, two in Kentucky and one in Tennessee. Ford announced in 2021 that it would build electric vehicle and battery factories in the two states. At the time, the companies said they would invest a total of $11.4 billion in the project. If completed, it would be the largest single manufacturing investment Ford has ever made since the company’s founding in 1903, according to the auto giant.
2 billion, but Ford could use less than that. The loan funds will support 5,000 construction jobs in the two states and, ultimately, 7,500 staff positions at the three plants, according to the DoE. The loan would be part of the DoE’s Advanced Technology Vehicles Manufacturing Loan Program, a $25 billion program to reduce US dependence on oil and reduce carbon emissions.