By Al Root

Ford Motor is starting up a new business that Tesla pioneered: Energy Storage.

Monday, Ford introduced "Ford Energy," which will deliver "United States-assembled battery energy storage systems for utilities, data centers, and large industrial and commercial customers in the United States."

The same lithium-ion batteries that power EVs can also be used to store energy from renewable power generation, which helps make solar and wind power-generating assets more reliable.

Tesla has a large energy storage business. It's deployed about 45 gigawatt hours of battery storage over the past 12 months. That's enough power to run several thousand American homes for a year. Ford plans to deploy "at least 20 gigawatt hours annually, with first customer deliveries planned for late 2027."

Ford stock was down 1.4% in midday trading at $12.14, while the S&P 500 and Dow Jones Industrial Average were up 0.2% and 0.1%, respectively.

To be sure, it's a good idea, but not a surprising one. General Motors is doing something similar. Both are following Tesla.

GM, Ford, and even Tesla have extra battery capacity because EVs are not selling as fast as anyone thought. U.S. EV sales dropped 27% in the first quarter and accounted for about 6% of new car sales. All-electric cars accounted for roughly 20% of new car sales in Europe over that span.

Ford and GM followed Tesla into EVs, but things didn't work out as planned. Slow sales have driven billions in EV-related write-downs for the two auto makers. Ford recorded charges totaling almost $20 billion in 2025. Energy storage is one way to salvage part of that investment.

To be sure, it's a good business. Power demand is growing faster than it has in a generation due mainly to the AI data center boom. Growing demand for electricity has helped send shares of GE Vernova and Caterpillar higher. Ford hopes that happens to its stock too.

Write to Al Root at allen.root@dowjones.com

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May 11, 2026 16:07 ET (20:07 GMT)

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