What is inside the Ford F-150 Lightning ER battery pack
The Ford F-150 Lightning ER carries a 131 kWh pack built from NMC 811 Cylindrical 2170 cells arranged in 16 serviceable modules at a nominal 400 V. Pack mass lands near 734 kg including the enclosure, cooling plate, contactors and BMS harness.
Because the cells are NMC 811 (2170), the recoverable value profile is dominated by nickel and cobalt, with lithium and copper adding a meaningful second tranche. That decides whether a retired pack is worth repurposing, refining, or both.
| Parameter | Value |
|---|---|
| Chemistry | NMC 811 Cylindrical 2170 |
| Cell format | Cylindrical 21700 |
| Energy / voltage | 131 kWh · 400 V |
| Modules | 16 |
| Estimated pack mass | 734 kg |
| On sale since | 2022 (Global) |
Step 1 — Removing and shipping a commercial fleet pack
Large packs are removed at the depot with a forklift-rated battery table and the vehicle isolated under lock-out tag-out. Retired packs are UN 3480 or UN 3481 dangerous goods, so the pack must be below 30% state of charge and any deformation, swelling or thermal history declared before pickup.
Each pack travels in a rated crate or on a restrained pallet, with coolant drained and ports sealed. Depot retirements are batched against the fleet replacement schedule so collections line up with vehicle swaps.
- Share telematics SOH history if it is available
- Confirm forklift access and dock height at the depot
- Isolate high-voltage systems under lock-out tag-out
- Declare any pack involved in a collision
Step 2 — Module-level state of health grading
Each of the 16 modules is tested independently — a whole-pack SOH figure hides the spread that decides second-life eligibility. We run a full capacity cycle, DC internal resistance measurement and impedance spectroscopy.
Our degradation model for the Ford F-150 Lightning ER shows how value falls with age. Measured results replace these estimates once the pack is on the bench.
| Service year | Modelled SOH | Grade | Residual value |
|---|---|---|---|
| Year 2 | 95.6% | A — BESS ready | USD 8,271 |
| Year 4 | 91.3% | A — BESS ready | USD 7,945 |
| Year 6 | 87% | A — BESS ready | USD 7,619 |
| Year 8 | 82.7% | B — Second life | USD 6,687 |
| Year 10 | 78.4% | B — Second life | USD 5,847 |
Step 3 — What you actually recover
For modules routed to refining, a pack of this size and chemistry typically yields about 14.1 kg lithium, 91.2 kg nickel, 11.3 kg cobalt and 45.2 kg copper.
At 80% SOH our model sends about 47% of the pack to second life, worth USD 3,662, and credits USD 2,478 for the remainder as black mass. Avoided emissions come to roughly 4,110 kg CO2.
Field note
Step 4 — Where to send it and what paperwork you get
Ford F-150 Lightning ER packs are received directly at 7 intake sites in its markets, including Detroit, Michigan, Dallas, Texas, Toronto, Ontario, Monterrey, Nuevo Leon. From there, modules move to the nearest grading bench and refinery.
Every consignment closes with a certificate showing quantity processed, recovery percentages achieved and downstream vendor disclosure, in the form used for EU and US producer-responsibility reporting. Fleets retiring several Ford F-150 Lightning ER units should book one consolidated pickup to cut per-pack cost.