As of June 2026, the BlueOval SK Battery Park in Glendale, Kentucky, a twin plant campus originally built to supply electric vehicle batteries for Ford and Lincoln models, has been reshaped almost beyond recognition. In December 2025, Ford Motor Company and its South Korean partner SK On agreed to dissolve their BlueOval SK joint venture, with Ford taking full ownership of the two Kentucky plants through a new subsidiary called Ford Energy while SK On assumed control of the partners’ Tennessee facility. Rather than producing cells for passenger EVs, the Glendale site is now being retooled to make stationary battery energy storage systems aimed at data centers, utilities and large industrial customers. Ford has framed the shift as a move toward higher return opportunities after losing roughly $13 billion on its EV business since 2023.

Production Began in 2025 Before the Joint Venture Unravelled

The reversal is striking given how recently the park reached its biggest milestone. Governor Andy Beshear announced that battery production officially began at Glendale on August 19, 2025, calling it a historic moment four years in the making, with about 1,450 of the promised jobs filled at that point. The campus had also secured a finalised $9.63 billion direct loan from the United States Department of Energy in December 2024, the largest ever issued under the Advanced Technology Vehicles Manufacturing Loan Program. Yet within months the economics turned. Ford said it no longer needed the cell capacity it had planned, and the pivot arrived as part of a broader $19.5 billion redeployment of assets the automaker had earmarked for electric vehicles.

Layoffs and a $2 Billion Retool Reshape the Glendale Plant

The human cost landed quickly. Ford and BlueOval SK moved to lay off roughly 1,600 workers, with the first cuts initially set for February 2026 and a further tranche pushed to March 31. Ford Energy now plans to spend about $2 billion retooling the single operating plant over roughly 18 months, lifting the total project value to around $7.8 billion, and intends to hire about 2,100 workers when production restarts in late 2027. At that point the Glendale site is expected to run at close to 23 percent of its original planned capacity, with the second building, long known as Kentucky 2, still idle. The state is renegotiating its $250 million forgivable loan, and economic development secretary Jeff Noel told lawmakers Ford would owe the full sum back if the promised jobs and investment fail to materialise.

What the Reset Means for Ford in Kentucky

Beshear has stayed publicly optimistic, noting that even at $7.8 billion the project would remain the single largest investment in state history. The recalibration sits alongside Ford’s wider Kentucky push, including a separate proposed $2 billion expansion of the Kentucky Truck Plant in Louisville that the governor has confirmed is under evaluation. A National Labor Relations Board decision in January 2026 also cleared the union certification process to advance, leaving the representation of any rehired Glendale workforce unsettled for now.

Project Overview

• Project Name: BlueOval SK Battery Park (Kentucky)
• Location: Glendale, Hardin County, Kentucky, United States
• Developer/Owner: Ford Motor Company, through its Ford Energy subsidiary; formerly the BlueOval SK joint venture of Ford and SK On
• Total Cost/Value: Approximately $7.8 billion following the $2 billion retool, up from the original $5.8 billion
• Scale/Capacity: Twin plants of roughly 4 million square feet each; restart capacity expected at about 23 percent of the original plan
• Construction Start: Groundbreaking in December 2022
• Expected Completion: Energy storage production restart expected in late 2027
• Funding/Financing: $9.63 billion US Department of Energy loan finalised December 2024; $250 million Kentucky forgivable loan under renegotiation
• Current Status: One plant being retooled for stationary energy storage, workforce undergoing layoffs, second plant idle
• Key Milestone: EV battery production began on August 19, 2025, months before the December 2025 joint venture dissolution

Project Team

• Ford Motor Company: Owner and operator following the joint venture dissolution
• Ford Energy: Ford subsidiary retooling and operating the Glendale site
• SK On: Former joint venture partner, now owner of the Tennessee plant
• Barton Malow: General contractor
• Gray Construction: Construction partner
• United States Department of Energy: Financier through a $9.63 billion direct loan
• Kentucky Economic Development Finance Authority: State incentive provider of the $250 million forgivable loan
• Kentucky Cabinet for Economic Development: State economic development body overseeing incentive terms
• Office of Governor Andy Beshear: State government champion
• United Auto Workers: Union pursuing certification at the Kentucky site

Reported 22nd February 2022: Ford Motor Company, an American multinational automobile manufacturer headquartered in Dearborn, Michigan, United States, has appointed a contractor to build the proposed Blue Oval SK Battery Park on 1,500 acres piece of land in Glendale, Kentucky.

The automaker, which last year announced its plans to bring two massive, environmentally and technologically advanced campuses to Tennessee and Kentucky, appointed Barton Malow Co., one of the 20 largest construction firms in the United States. Barton Malow will work hand in hand with Gray Construction, a family-owned company deeply rooted in engineering, design, construction, smart manufacturing, & equipment manufacturing solutions to deliver the Ford and  SK Innovation developed project.

Speaking on the appointment the CEO at Barton Malow, Ryan Maibach said the company is thrilled to have had the opportunity to work with Ford in enhancing America’s shift to electric automobiles adding that Barton Malow will introduce Gray Construction to “leverage their extensive mastery of the local market.”

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Upon completion expectedly in 2025 and 2026, the US$ 5.8bn facility shall have two EV battery plants with a combined capacity of 86 GWh per year. The batteries will be used in next-generation Ford and Lincoln vehicles.

Hiring blue oval SK battery park project subcontractors and suppliers

Just as the Ford and SK joint BlueOval City project in Tennessee, the companies are looking for subcontractors and suppliers for the BlueOval SK Battery Park. Ford, Barton Malow, and Gray hosted a subcontractor event in Elizabethtown, on Feb. 17, and will hold more information sessions according to Greg Christensen, Ford’s electric vehicle footprint manufacturing director. Barton Malow also has a page up on its website with contacts for anyone interested in working on the project.

“Ford, SK Innovation, Barton Malow, and Gray are all dedicated to hiring multiple local workforces to construct the BlueOval SK Battery Park, and this is the first step to make sure that Kentuckians will be included in creating a modern time of manufacturing for the US,” said Christensen in a statement.