Foxconn Fast Facts:
- Taiwan: Opened a gigafactory in Kaohsiung for LFP cells and packs, crucial for their EV and cloud ambitions, with R&D integrated.
- United States (Wisconsin/Ohio): Developing battery cells/packs in Mount Pleasant, Wisconsin, and packs in Ohio, aiming for localized North American supply.
- China (Zhengzhou): Also investing in battery plants to diversify away from China, a core part of their strategy.
- Technology: Producing LFP (Lithium Iron Phosphate) batteries for cost and safety, while also investing in solid-state battery research and development.
Foxconn is the massive Taiwanese smart manufacturing company founded in 2021 also known as Hon Hai Precision Industry. It is dedicated to creating consumer electronics and smartphones. But now, Foxconn has turned on its battery gigafactory in southern Taiwan producing lithium phosphate batteries for electric vehicles.
The company is evolving into a major manufacturer of batteries for transportation and energy. Foxconn is rapidly expanding its electric vehicle (EV) battery strategy, focusing on in-house production of LFP (Lithium Iron Phosphate) cells and packs in Taiwan, Wisconsin (USA), and potentially China, to support its own Foxtron brand of EVs (Model C, T, V) and external partners such as Fisker and Mitsubishi Fuso.
You could say that Foxconn is aiming for global EV manufacturing dominance by diversifying from China and building a localized supply chain. They are developing both traditional liquid-electrolyte batteries and exploring solid-state tech, integrating batteries into their "MIH" open platform for various automakers.
MIH stands for “Mobility in Harmony Consortium. It is not a specific battery component or technology itself, but an open platform initiative aimed at accelerating innovation and standardization in EV development, including battery systems.
The goal is to lower the barriers to entry into the EV market, shorten development cycles, and reduce costs by creating an "Android system of the EV industry" through an open, standardized software and hardware platform.
This includes developing battery systems with both fixed charging and battery swapping technology and working on advanced battery technologies like solid-state batteries and AI-based battery management systems.
The idea here is to bring battery manufacturing in-house to reduce reliance on suppliers and to build the company’s model in the U.S., Mexico, India, and Southeast Asia. Foxconn sees batteries as central to the creation of future smart cites and the EV ecosystem.
Global Energy Hubs
Foxconn’s Taiwan gigafactory is being seen as the first bright spark in what could become a global network of energy hubs, paving the way for the electrified future. Known as a company that has built an incredible empire out of the smart communication devices we all carry constantly, its next bold chapter may well include powering future electric cars.
