Dickinson Wright Assists CATL in Their Framework Agreement With Ford Motor Company
February 14, 2023
Dickinson Wright acted as counsel to CATL, the world’s largest supplier of EV batteries, in the Agreement. “We are pleased that we could assist CATL in negotiating a comprehensive agreement with Ford that will benefit both parties as they explore new business opportunities to promote EVs and contribute to global carbon neutrality goals,” says Mark Heusel, lead counsel and East Asia Practice Group Chair for Dickinson Wright.
In this strategic commercial relationship, Ford, in cooperation with CATL will produce LFP (lithium ion phosphate) cells for Ford’s iconic F-150 Lightning and future new platforms. LFP batteries are becoming increasingly popular for EV production as they have substantially better durability than nickel-based batteries and can withstand thousands of charge cycles with minimal degradation. LFP cells also rely on less critical mineral content and are more sustainable.
In addition to supplying the LFP-based batteries to Ford, CATL will actively cooperate with Ford to develop other battery technologies while they explore new business opportunities worldwide. Mark Heusel (Member, East Asia Practice Group Chair, Ann Arbor) served as lead counsel to CATL. The team included William Rosin (Member, Troy), Andrea Arndt (Member, Austin), Deborah Germany (Member, Detroit), and Kevin DeHart (Of Counsel).
Dickinson Wright’s East Asia practice group consists of an experienced team of lawyers and professionals who have advised companies of all sizes throughout the region on their investment in the United States, Canada, and Mexico. Our team draws from deep knowledge and experience in core industries, leveraging the most advanced technologies and communication strategies to bring a depth of resources to our clients. We are industry leaders in cross border transactions, supply chain issues, international laws and trade regulations tariff regimes, treaty compliance, and matters involving national security and foreign investment. To learn more about our practice, please click here.
# # #
About Dickinson Wright
Dickinson Wright is a general practice business law firm with more than 475 attorneys among more than 40 practice areas and 16 industry groups. The firm has 19 offices, including six in Michigan (Detroit, Troy, Ann Arbor, Lansing, Grand Rapids, and Saginaw) and 12 other domestic offices in Austin and El Paso, Texas; Chicago, Illinois; Columbus, Ohio; Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.; Lexington, Ky.; Nashville, Tenn.; Las Vegas and Reno, Nev.; Phoenix, Ariz.; Silicon Valley, Calif.; and Washington, D.C. The firm’s Canadian office is located in Toronto.
Dickinson Wright offers our clients a distinctive combination of superb client service, exceptional quality, value for fees, industry expertise, and business acumen. As one of the few law firms with ISO/IEC 27001:2013 certification and one of the only firms with ISO/IEC 27701:2019 certification, Dickinson Wright has built state-of-the-art, independently-verified risk management procedures, security controls and privacy processes for our commercial transactions. Dickinson Wright lawyers are known for delivering commercially-oriented advice on sophisticated transactions and have a remarkable record of wins in high-stakes litigation. Dickinson Wright lawyers are regularly cited for their expertise and experience by Chambers, Best Lawyers, Super Lawyers, and other leading independent law firm evaluating organizations.