The initiative would also promote the construction of charging stations and include financial incentives for consumers and carmakers.
Ford has had to halt or slow production of highly profitable models like the F-150 pickup truck and various sport-utility vehicles.
Tesla said sales doubled in the second quarter, but Ford reported a more modest increase as the industry grapples with a semiconductor shortage.
The president wants to use pollution rules to rapidly lift sales, but there are hurdles ahead.
Analysts credit the new chief executive, Jim Farley, with energizing the automaker, which still faces challenges.
Analysts credit the new chief executive, Jim Farley, with energizing the automaker, which still faces challenges.
Ford has gone from being a relative latecomer to battery-powered vehicles to making them a central focus. Last week it introduced the F-150 Lightning, an electric truck.
If it sells well, an electric version of the best-selling vehicle in the U.S. could help accelerate the move to electric vehicles.
The transition to an electric-car future will be an uphill battle, with the president and Republicans in Congress at odds over his $4 trillion economic agenda.
A race is on to produce lithium in the United States, but competing projects are taking very different approaches to extracting the vital raw material. Some might not be very green.