US auto giant Ford will build a multi-billion-dollar power battery plant in Michigan that will use technology and services provided by a Chinese company. Ford is investing $3.5 billion to build a lithium iron phosphate (LFP) battery plant in Marshall, Michigan.

Ford has pledged to invest more than $50 billion in EVs by 2026.

As part of the plan, Ford and its battery technology partners have invested more than $17.6 billion in EV and battery production in the US since 2019. Ford is working to reach its goal of 600,000 global EV production capacity by the end of this year and 2 million EVs per year by 2026.

The introduction of LFP battery technology will help the Ford Model e business unit achieve an adjusted EBIT margin of 8 percent in 2026 by providing consumers with more choices.

Notably, the company will use technology supplied by Chinese power battery giant CATL.

Ford has a new agreement with CATL, which will provide technical and service support for the production of the LFP battery plant, and Ford engineers will work on cell and vehicle integration, it said.

The partnership with CATL will help Ford further increase battery capacity and introduce new battery technologies, Ford said, adding that it has previously partnered with LG New Energy and SK On on power batteries.

CATL is the world's largest power battery manufacturer, with 191.6 GWh of batteries installed in 2022 and a market share of 37.0 percent.