Ford to repurpose Hardin County battery park BlueOval SK

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WAVE) - In an announcement on Monday, Dec. 15, Ford said they planned to repurpose the existing BlueOval SK Battery Park in Glendale, Kentucky, shifting away from EVs and towards making batteries for the growing data center demand.

“Ford is launching a new business — including sales and service — to capture the large demand for battery energy storage from data centers and infrastructure to support the electric grid. Ford plans to repurpose existing U.S. battery manufacturing capacity in Glendale, Kentucky, to serve the rapidly growing battery energy storage systems market," Ford said in a press release.

Ford said they would leverage their plants in Kentucky and Michigan, which are solely owned by the company. Ford’s full ownership of BlueOval SK was announced Dec. 11 as they dissolved their partnership with South Korean battery maker SK On.

For the Glendale BlueOval facility to be converted, Ford said they planned a roughly $2 billion investment over the next two years to scale the business.

Ford plans on converting BlueOval to manufacture 5MWh+ advanced battery energy storage systems. The company plans to produce LFP prismatic cells, battery energy storage system modules and 20-foot DC container systems.

Layoffs are anticipated with the transition of the facility. In a statement, Kentucky State Senator Matt Deneen (R-Elizabethtown) said that Ford was planning to assist employees impacted by the transition.

“Ford has reaffirmed its commitment to add approximately 2,100 jobs as the facility is retooled, replacing positions affected during this temporary transition,” Deneen said. “The company is also working to ensure support and assistance are available to employees impacted in the short term, while moving forward with the hiring and investment commitments it has already made.”

When WAVE asked how many terminations were set and how many days notice employees would receive, a spokesperson for BlueOval SK sent a statement that reads, in full:

“The last day for team members at the Kentucky plant will be 60 days after receiving notice. We currently have approximately 1,650 team members in Kentucky, approximately 1,500 of whom are joint venture employees. The remaining team members are considered secondees from one of our parent companies and will not receive a WARN notice.”

The first BlueOval SK battery to be sold to a customer only came off the assembly line in August of this year. Batteries from the plant went into the all-electric Ford F-150 Lightning trucks.

While the Glendale facility is shifting away from EV production, Ford still plans on EVs coming from its Louisville facility.

“The first vehicle from the Universal EV Platform will be the fully connected midsize pickup truck assembled at Louisville Assembly Plant starting in 2027,” Ford said in the online release.