Strategic Battery Pivot
Ford appoints Drake to monetise battery pivot
As pure EV ambitions recede, Ford hands Lisa Drake the task of transforming battery infrastructure into a commercial energy storage business targeting data centres and utilities
Ford Motor Company has handed Lisa Drake the keys to its newest strategic gambit. Effective immediately, Drake assumes the presidency of Ford Energy, a newly formed business unit tasked with converting the carmaker's extensive battery manufacturing infrastructure into a commercial battery energy storage systems operation. The appointment, announced on 27 January, follows Ford's far-reaching December pivot away from pure electric vehicle production and towards what the company characterises as powertrain pluralism.
Drake takes charge of Ford Energy's end-to-end operations spanning battery cell manufacturing, system assembly and sales. She reports to John Lawler, vice chair, and will be responsible for building the leadership team needed to capitalise on what Ford describes as a high-growth market opportunity in battery energy storage systems for utilities and large energy users. The appointment represents both a salvage operation and a calculated bet on an adjacent market where Ford's battery manufacturing expertise might prove more immediately profitable than automotive electrification.
[Lisa Drake's] leadership is essential as we stand up Ford Energy to capture the growing demand for reliable battery energy storage that supports grid stability and resilience for utilities and large energy users."
The move makes industrial sense when examined against Ford's recent strategic recalibration. In December 2025, the manufacturer announced it would absorb approximately $19.5 billion (€18.9 billion) in special charges whilst repurposing its Tennessee and Ohio facilities away from pure electric vehicle production. The BlueOval City campus in Tennessee, originally conceived as an electric vehicle manufacturing hub, will instead house the renamed Tennessee Truck Plant producing affordable internal combustion engine trucks starting in 2029. Meanwhile, the F-150 Lightning has been reimagined not as a pure battery electric vehicle but as an extended-range electric vehicle with an estimated 700-plus mile range.
From automotive cells to utility-scale storage
Drake's remit centres on redirecting Ford's battery cell production capacity towards battery energy storage systems. The company plans to invest roughly $2 billion over the next two years to scale this business, targeting initial shipments in 2027 with 20 gigawatt-hours of annual capacity. The strategy leverages Ford's existing manufacturing footprint in Glendale, Kentucky, where the company will manufacture five megawatt-hour-plus advanced battery energy storage systems.
"Lisa has deep expertise in scaling complex industrial systems and securing critical supply chains," said Lawler. "Her leadership is essential as we stand up Ford Energy to capture the growing demand for reliable battery energy storage that supports grid stability and resilience for utilities and large energy users."
The Kentucky site will produce lithium iron phosphate prismatic cells, battery energy storage system modules and 20-foot direct current container systems. Separately, the BlueOval Battery Park Michigan facility in Marshall will manufacture smaller amp-hour cells for residential energy storage solutions whilst continuing to produce battery cells for Ford's upcoming midsize electric truck built on the Universal EV Platform.
This dual-track approach reflects Ford's attempt to extract value from battery infrastructure investments whilst maintaining some electric vehicle capability. Drake, who most recently served as vice president for Technology Platform Programs and EV Systems, brings substantial experience in industrialisation and purchasing; disciplines directly applicable to operationalising a battery energy storage systems business leveraging Ford's manufacturing expertise and United States footprint. Rather than abandoning electrification entirely, the company is hedging its bets by serving both automotive and stationary storage markets with the same fundamental manufacturing capabilities.
The data centre imperative
Ford's timing appears calculated to intercept a market experiencing significant growth. Battery energy storage systems have emerged as critical infrastructure for data centres facing unprecedented power demands driven by artificial intelligence workloads. The data centre market in the United States is anticipated to reach 60 gigawatts in 2026, creating substantial demand for reliable backup power and grid stabilisation technologies.
Data centre operators increasingly view battery energy storage systems not merely as backup power but as grid-interactive assets capable of reducing demand charges through peak shaving, participating in energy arbitrage and providing fast frequency regulation services. These applications can reduce annual energy costs by up to 30 per cent whilst improving infrastructure efficiency, making battery energy storage systems both operationally and financially strategic for data centre operations.
The battery energy storage systems market more broadly saw 69 gigawatts of new capacity installed globally in 2024, representing 44 per cent year-on-year expansion. Utility-scale battery capacity in the United States increased by 66 per cent in 2024, with industry observers expecting 2025 to deliver another record-breaking year. This growth trajectory suggests Ford's pivot towards stationary storage may prove more immediately lucrative than its pure electric vehicle ambitions.
Manufacturing assets redeployed
The battery infrastructure Ford intends to leverage for energy storage represents significant prior investment. The company recently dissolved its joint venture with SK On, SK Battery America and BlueOval SK, with a Ford subsidiary now independently owning and operating the Kentucky battery plants whilst SK On assumes full ownership of the Tennessee facility. This restructuring preceded the pivot towards battery energy storage systems and suggests Ford had been reassessing its battery manufacturing strategy for some time. "Ford Energy allows us to maximise the value of our battery manufacturing capabilities," said Drake. "We're building a business focused first on utility-scale battery energy storage systems for large customers while also offering battery cells for residential energy storage solutions."
The residential energy storage angle provides Ford with potential retail channel opportunities, though the primary revenue opportunity appears concentrated in utility-scale deployments and data centre applications where individual projects can represent hundreds of megawatts of capacity. The company characterises Ford Energy as already open for business, directing potential customers and partners to engage via dedicated communication channels.
Drake's background includes leadership of Ford's Global Powertrain procurement organisation and the F-150 product and launch team during construction of the state-of-the-art Dearborn Truck Plant, providing her with both supply chain and industrialisation experience relevant to establishing a battery energy storage systems business.
Ford's battery manufacturing strategy now explicitly prioritises stationary storage applications whilst maintaining some automotive electric vehicle capability through the Universal EV Platform. The company expects approximately half its global volume to comprise hybrids, extended-range electric vehicles and fully electric vehicles by 2030, up from 17 per cent currently. However, the path to this target abandons the pure-play electric infrastructure Ford had been constructing, instead embracing what the company terms a multi-energy approach.
Strategic coherence or expensive retreat?
Whether Ford's pivot represents strategic acumen or an expensive admission of misjudgement regarding electric vehicle market development remains open to debate. The $19.5 billion in special charges suggests the cost of recalibration has been substantial. Ford expects approximately $5.5 billion in cash effects from these restructuring actions, with the majority paid in 2026 and the remainder in 2027.
The company has raised its 2025 adjusted earnings before interest and tax guidance to approximately $7 billion, citing continued underlying business strength including cost improvement. Ford Model e now targets profitability by 2029, with improvements beginning in 2026. Whether these financial projections prove achievable will depend substantially on Drake's success in establishing Ford Energy as a viable commercial enterprise, leveraging her experience in scaling production systems and securing critical materials.
The battery energy storage systems market offers certain advantages over automotive applications. Customer adoption curves are more predictable, driven by grid infrastructure requirements and data centre expansion rather than consumer preferences. Regulatory frameworks increasingly favour energy storage deployment to support renewable energy integration and grid stability. Margins on utility-scale projects can prove attractive, particularly when battery manufacturing costs continue declining.
However, Ford enters a market where established players including Tesla, Fluence and specialised battery energy storage systems providers have developed substantial expertise and customer relationships. Chinese lithium iron phosphate battery manufacturers offer competitive pricing that may prove challenging for Ford's United States manufacturing footprint to match. The company's automotive brand recognition provides limited advantage in industrial battery energy storage systems markets where technical performance, reliability and total cost of ownership drive purchasing decisions.
Drake's appointment signals Ford's seriousness about this strategic redirection. Her operational credentials and supply chain expertise suggest the company intends to compete not on brand recognition but on manufacturing efficiency, system integration capabilities, and supply chain security.
Clearly, Ford's broader strategic repositioning is undergoing rapid development, but whether this approach proves sufficient enough to establish Ford Energy as a meaningful competitor in the battery energy storage systems market will only become evident as the company targets initial shipments in 2027.
