Ford Spins Off Edf Energy for Late 2027 Deliveries
Ford spun off edf energy this week as a battery energy storage subsidiary, and the company said it plans first deliveries in late 2027. The business will sell systems to utilities, industrial customers and data centers, giving Ford a new product line as it repurposes plant capacity in Kentucky.
Jim Farley had already put battery storage in Ford’s group of "high-margin opportunities" in December, and the company’s stock jumped 13 percent after the announcement. The timing matters because Ford is moving ahead even after taking a $19.5 billion write-down on its EV programs late last year and scrapping some current and next-generation EVs in favor of hybrids.
Glendale plant reset
Ford plans to use unused production lines in Glendale, Kentucky, a plant that was once slated to make electric vehicle batteries. That shift turns capacity that was tied to EV battery plans into output for storage systems instead, with Ford Energy set to serve customers that buy large-scale power equipment rather than passenger vehicles.
The company’s battery push also fits a broader pattern among US automakers. General Motors said last year it would work with Redwood Materials on batteries for energy storage, then said in March it would work with LG Energy Solution to repurpose an EV battery plant in Tennessee for energy storage system batteries.
Ford Energy and rivals
Ford is not entering a blank market. A Stellantis collaboration with Samsung SDI began producing batteries in Kokomo, Indiana, in 2024, and Stellantis has already shifted some of that output to energy storage. Tesla’s Powerwall and Megapack sales have helped offset weaker EV sales in recent years, while Tesla plans to open a Houston facility later this year for a new, larger Megapack.
BloombergNEF counted 11 battery cell manufacturing plants being retooled for energy storage in March, including eight in the US. Ford’s move puts Glendale into that same broader manufacturing shift and gives the company a timeline: first deliveries late next year.
