Responsible Battery Coalition Applauds Member Ford Motor Company F-150 Announcement and Commitment to Responsible EV Battery Life Cycle Points to Chip Shortage as Cautionary to the Need for Focus on a Resilient EV Battery FutureWASHINGTON, D.C. — The Responsible Battery Coalition (RBC) today applauded RBC member Ford Motor Company for its bold action in the Electric Vehicle (EV) revolution to electrify the most popular pickup truck in America, the Ford F-150, and the company’s commitment to a responsible EV battery life cycle. The RBC also pointed to the semiconductor chip shortage as the basis for a national conversation regarding reliance on sourcing and design of EV battery materials to avoid a reliance that creates a national security vulnerability. “Ford Motor Company has long committed to the sustainable design, sourcing, and overall life cycle for lead acid batteries, and now is dedicated to the same for the batteries used in its new line of electric vehicles,” said RBC Executive Director Steve Christensen. “Ford, along with other RBC members, understand that in order for there truly to be an EV revolution, the entire lifecycle of EV batteries must be the focus of the next industrial revolution in our country to achieve the environmental gains intended and avoid creating a national security vulnerability or supply shortage like we are seeing with semiconductor chips for vehicles.” The RBC is the premiere coalition of major stakeholders in battery manufacturing, use, sales and recycling sectors and continues to deliver next step life cycle management for all vehicle and industrial batteries regardless of chemistry. By partnering with leading stakeholders in the battery supply chain, and key thought leaders, as well as the nation’s top research institutions, the RBC creates scientifically validated and commercially viable solutions for the responsible management of today’s batteries and those yet to be imagined. The RBC, its prominent members, as well as research institutions, including Argonne Laboratories, the University of Michigan, and others, recently launched an EV initiative dedicated to applying the knowledge and best practices of the ‘circular economy’ that has been achieved for lead acid batteries to Lithium-ion batteries in EVs.
