Ford partners with SK Innovation in South Korea to build electric batteries in the US.

Immediately after the public debut of the F-150 Lightning pickup truck, Ford announced that it will form a joint venture with South Korean SK Innovation to produce batteries for electric vehicles on a large scale.

The two companies signed a memorandum of understanding to form a joint venture called BlueOvalSK, which would manufacture batteries in the US. Ford already has a relationship with SK Innovation, which supplies batteries for its Mustang Mach-E SUVs.

But now the two companies are going to plan to make those batteries together. Ford has been striving for more control over its supply chain for months as the race to produce more electric vehicles for the growing US market heats up.

SK Innovation recently lost a trade secret dispute with rival LG Chem that could hinder imports to the US. (The companies has recently reached an agreement that could prevent a possible import ban.) By making its own batteries in the US, Ford can avoid some of the conflicts that arise from buying batteries abroad.

Last month, the company announced the creation of Ford Ion Park, a global center of excellence for batteries ”in southeast Michigan. Ford said the goal is to research how to make its own batteries for electric vehicles. A team of 150 experts will work on ways to build EV batteries that last, charge quickly, and are sustainable for the environment.

Ford said it expects annual energy demand for its vehicles to reach 140 GWh per year in North America and 240 GWh worldwide by 2030. According to GlobalData, a data and analytics company, global battery production is expected to grow from 95.3 GWh in 2020 to 410.5 GWh in 2024.

Ford will have to act more aggressively if it hopes to catch up with its competitors such as Tesla and General Motors, both of which are working quickly to localize their battery development in the US. GM is building two battery factories with its partner LG Chem, while Tesla is in the early stages of making its own “tabless” battery cells in-house. Meanwhile, Volkswagen recently unveiled its own plan to build six “giga factories” in Europe by 2030.