Are electric vehicles (EVs) still the future of the automobile industry? Or has their shine already worn off? It’s a question manufacturers and investors alike are asking considering the recent tumultuous political landscape.
Elon Musk’s very public government involvement has soured many potential customers and given Tesla investors whiplash from crashing stock prices. Likewise, Congress appears poised to make big changes to tax credits currently enjoyed by EV purchasers and manufacturers.
These events have led numerous companies to hit the brakes on new and even some in-progress EV-related projects. Not so with Ford Motor Company, however. In a recent Axios article, author Joann Muller reports that “Ford Motor is pushing ahead with a politically controversial battery factory in Michigan, even as Congress moves closer to eliminating the lucrative Biden-era tax subsidies that made the project financially feasible.”
The facility, located about 100 miles west of Detroit, is nearly 60% complete and represents a $3 billion commitment on Ford’s part. With the EV production tax credits currently in place, Ford would “potentially receive a $900 million tax credit, offsetting almost one-third of its investment.” Unfortunately, the budget bill being crafted by Congress could put an end to those tax credits.
So why move ahead in such uncertain times? According to Muller, “Ford’s argument is that by building batteries using technology licensed from China’s leading battery producer, [Contemporary Amperex Technology Co., Limited] (CATL), it is helping to re-shore important manufacturing expertise that was long ago ceded to China.”
Ford’s EV battery factory would produce lithium-iron-phosphate batteries, also known as “LFP” batteries. This technology was “invented in 1997 at the University of Texas, but, as often happens with U.S.-developed technology, they ended up being industrialized in China during the 2010s.”
Ford believes LFP batteries are the “reliable, cost-effective solution” that will allow it to “make more affordable electric vehicles.” Ford’s licensing of this technology is a big bet “that it will lead to homegrown innovation and the seeding of a domestic supply base.”
The push to end EV tax subsidies now presents a real danger to the industry, especially “in the face of slower-than-expected EV demand.” While consumer tax breaks could continue to prop up demand, the production tax credit is more important to manufacturers like Ford.
Muller notes that Ford does not “want to back off on scaling, hiring or training in an industry we need to be competitive in the future. It would be a shame to build these facilities and then have to scale back on the most important part of it, which is the people. These are 1,700 jobs. They don’t come along very often.”
All eyes will be on Congress in the coming weeks to see which way the EV tax incentive winds blow. Regardless of the political landscape, many experts still see EVs as the future of the automobile industry, and factories like those being built by Ford will be important pieces of the domestic supply chain.
The workers in the facilities that produce EV batteries will need to stay on the cutting edge of technical skill development. A focus on continual skill improvement will require both upskilling of current workers and training current students with the advanced skills they’ll need to be successful in these jobs.
The experts at Amatrol have been working hand-in-hand with industry and educational institutions for years to design training programs featuring eLearning curriculum and hands-on experience with trainers equipped with industrial components workers will encounter on the job.
When it comes to EV training, Amatrol is once again leading the way. Amatrol has hosted the State of Ohio Electric Vehicle Workforce Strategy meeting at its headquarters in Jeffersonville, Indiana, to help chart a course for preparing the Ohio workforce for the jobs that EV battery and vehicle manufacturing facilities will soon bring. Click here to watch a video about that meeting.
Amatrol has also held an EV Summit Meeting with MichAuto and other representatives in the EV industry to work together to develop the next generation of EV training systems and curriculum. Partnering with these experts allows Amatrol to ensure it’s developing the training systems workers really need to thrive.
What Amatrol has learned is that, in many ways, the development of EV battery and vehicle manufacturing facilities shares similarities with semiconductor manufacturing facilities. They both represent precision manufacturing that requires advanced automation skills.
Visit Amatrol online to learn more about its EV Manufacturing Program. You can also download Amatrol’s EV Manufacturing Program brochure. For more information about how Amatrol can help you upskill your current workers, contact an expert at Amatrol today!
