Ford, U-M Partner on $8M Electric-Car Battery Lab Project

Ford Motors and the University of Michigan have teamed up on an $8-million battery lab project, reports Detroit Free Press.

The lab will be used to develop cheaper and more efficient batteries that will make electrified cars more affordable. It will be used for prototyping, testing and analyzing batteries and the materials that go into them.

Ford is the only automaker partnering in the lab housed at the U-M Energy Institute. The lab will be completed next year.

Ford contributed $2.1 million, augmenting $5 million from the Michigan Economic Development Corp. and about $900,000 from the U-M College of Engineering.

Ted Miller, who manages Ford’s battery research, said the automaker has battery labs that test and validate production-ready batteries, “but nothing this far upstream. This is sorely needed.”

In addition, the lab will help suppliers of cells and other materials better understand the needs of the auto industry before they make investments.

The lab will provide training for the next generation of battery engineers.

Source: Detroit Free Press