Apr 15, 2026
In a major shakeup to its EV strategy, the Ford Motor Company announced its plan to shift away from producing large electric vehicles and instead plug its batteries into the power grid.
According to a report from the Detroit Free Press, the Dearborn-based automaker plans to commit $2 billion to building a full-on energy storage business called Ford Energy (1). The goal, as TechCrunch reports, is to handle 20GWh (gigawatt-hours) in annual capacity and start offering battery storage services in 2027 (2).
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A large portion of this investment will go into repurposing its Kentucky facility for grid-scale storage systems that use lithium iron phosphate batteries and 20-foot DC containers.
In a recent press release (3), Ford's Vice Chair John Lawler said the core purpose behind Ford Energy is "to capture the growing demand for reliable battery energy storage that supports grid stability and resilience for utilities and large energy users."
Lisa Drake, who now leads the Ford Energy division, added that Ford is "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."
While Ford's foray into battery storage is substantial, the automaker is actually a latecomer versus competitors like Tesla (4) and General Motors (5). According to TechCrunch, Tesla's storage business has already reached 46.7 GWh in 2025, a 48% jump from 2025 (6).
From EV losses to energy opportunity
A quick glance at Ford's recent financials makes it clear why management had to make a bold move. In the fourth quarter of 2025, Ford's EV division incurred incredibly high losses, including a $11.1 billion quarterly net loss due to EV writedowns, according to Reuters (7).
Looking ahead, The New York Post reported that Ford still expects to lose $4 to $4.5 billion from EVs in 2026 (8). Ford's CEO Jim Farley basically admitted defeat in this venture, telling investors, "I think the customer has spoken."
While demand for EVs may be stalling, there's clearly a boom for energy storage thanks to the rise in artificial intelligence. The International Energy Agency says the projection for data center demand is now around 945 TWh by 2030, which would be about 3% of total power (9). If true, that would give Ford a way to break into an industry on pace to grow 15% annually.
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In the U.S. alone, data center consumption might double to 400 to 600 TWh by 2030, according to the Battery Council International, making the domestic battery storage game even juicier (10). With this in mind, switching from dismal EV sales to skyrocketing data center growth is a no-brainer for businesses like Ford that have a lot of unused battery power.
And this isn't just good news for mega companies that need a new revenue stream, as there's mounting evidence that investment in battery storage might play a positive role on your energy bill.
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Is more battery storage good for your electricity bills?
There's no way to put on the brakes for increased energy demand.
The Department of Energy (DOE) is already preparing for data centers to consume "double or triple" the power on the grid by 2028, reaching anywhere from 6.7% to 12% of total U.S. electricity (11). That means without enough storage, the extra energy load could push power bills higher during peak hours.
Research from the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis already shows the average cost of electricity per kilowatt-hour is around $0.19 in 2026 (12). For context, that's up 46% from roughly $0.13 in 2020.
Ideally, battery storage would step in here not only to stabilize the grid, but to blunt these prices before they go parabolic.
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Some preliminary research shows promise that storage systems can seriously help in the cost savings department. For instance, a report out of Stanford analyzing solar-battery systems found that 60% of U.S. families could lower their electricity costs by 15% (13).
Cornell researchers also discovered a 15% max savings on electricity bills by strategically using battery storage for peak shaving (14).
As a bonus, since these facilities store energy, they could help with costs associated with power disruptions. The DOE-funded Oak Ridge National Laboratory estimates U.S. consumers lost $67 billion per year from 2018 to 2024 due to major outages (15).
On this topic (13), Stanford's study authors pointed out that "63% of households could achieve affordable back-up power during power outages covering an average of 51% of their essential energy needs."
So, even though more private companies are investing in power storage, the infrastructure they're building could be beneficial for the public.
Article Sources
We rely only on vetted sources and credible third-party reporting. For details, see our ethics and guidelines.
Detroit Free Press (1); TechCrunch (2, 6); Town East Ford (3); Tesla (4); GM Energy (5); Reuters (7); New York Post (8); International Energy Agency (9); Battery Council International (10); U.S. Department of Energy (11); Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis (12); Nature (13); arXiv (14); Oak Ridge National Laboratory (15).
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Eric Esposito is a freelance contributor on MoneyWise with an interest in financial markets, investing, and trading. In addition to MoneyWise, Eric’s work can be found on financial publications such as WallStreetZen and CoinDesk. When not researching the latest stock market trends, Eric enjoys biking, walking his dog, and spending time with family in Central Florida. Eric holds a BA in English from Quinnipiac University.
