GM will build Volt batteries itself

[DainBramaged]

General Motors plans to manufacture in-house the lithium ion batteries for the Chevrolet Volt plug-in hybrid, CEO Rick Wagoner said here today at the auto show.

GM, which has been under intense public pressure to improve the fuel efficiency of its fleet, plans to produce the batteries in Michigan using lithium ion battery cells provided by South Korean supplier LG Chem.

In a related move, GM said it will open an automotive battery laboratory, likely in Michigan, later this year. The company also is establishing a partnership with the University of Michigan to create a curriculum for battery engineers.

"This is the next step in the electrification of the automobile," Wagoner said.

GM is negotiating with the state of Michigan on the location of the battery plant but plans to start site preparation early this year and open for production in 2010. The Chevy Volt is expected to go on sale in late 2010.

"The design, development and production of advanced batteries must be a core competency for GM," Wagoner said. "We've been rapidly building our capacity and resources to support this direction."

Before the battery plant opens, GM will get battery packs for product development and testing from Compact Power Inc., a suburban Detroit unit of LG Chem.

Wagoner outlined an advanced battery strategy for GM that includes two pathways. GM is selecting areas it will consider core competencies -- Wagoner specified battery r&d and assembly -- and creating a list of global battery suppliers and academic experts to tap for projects and to help GM develop its own battery engineers.

Key parts of the initiative include:

• Opening the largest automotive battery lab in the United States -- 31,000 square feet -- that can test new energy storage technologies as well as lithium ion and nickel-metal hydride batteries. The lab will lead GM's network of existing labs in Honeoye Falls, N.Y.; Warren, Mich.; Torrance, Calif.; and Mainz-Kastel, Germany.

• Adding several hundred engineers this year to GM's global hybrid, electric-vehicle and advanced battery staff.

• Working with the University of Michigan to create an automotive advanced battery lab in Ann Arbor, Mich., and to train automotive battery engineers.

• Establishing a roster of battery suppliers for cell development, manufacturing and battery integration expertise -- specifically including LG Chem, A123 Systems, Hitachi Ltd., Compact Power and Cobasys.

• Collaborating with government organizations and industry consortiums -- such as the U.S. Department of Energy, U.S. Council for Automotive Research, U.S. Advanced Battery Consortium LLC and the Electric Power Research Institute -- to promote the development of hybrids, plug-ins and electric vehicles and the related infrastructure to support them.

(posted in full, subscription only) http://www.autonews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20090112/ANA02/901120269/1115

[gristy]

1. Very good. I like the sound of this. Reverse outsourcing.

[MichiganVote]

2. About time they stopped outsourcing all this work to a bunch of ingrates.

[DainBramaged]

3. Made in the USA, it was Made in the USA (no outsourcing anyway)

It was MADE in the USA........

[Old and In the Way]

4. Very good news on a lot of levels.

It shows me that GM and Ford are beginning to take EV technology seriously. They may also be understanding that Big Oil is no longer their energy partner and they may also be getting serious about the problem of emissions and their impact on climate change.