GM News: gm by Mid-Decade Plans 60% Reduction in Battery Cost

[G. David Felt]

Generation 2 of the Ultium batteries have already undergone 150,000 simulated test miles at the Global Technical Center in Warren Michigan. 

To accelerate the move to an all EV portfolio, gm is working with several innovative companies and making investments in said companies to ramp quickly in scaling battery production. 2015 was the start of working together and gm will now take it to the next level with the next generation of Ultium batteries.

This agreement with SES will include building a manufacturing prototyping line in Woburn Massachusetts for high-capacity, pre-production batteries by 2023.

To quote GM President Reuss: “Affordability and range are two major barriers to mass EV adoption,” said Reuss. “With this next-generation Ultium chemistry, we believe we’re on the cusp of a once-in-a-generation improvement in energy density and cost. There’s even more room to improve in both categories, and we intend to innovate faster than any other company in this space.”

Just one year after the Ultium platform reveal, the rapid technical progress is making it possible to upgrade battery packs as gm has been granted 49 patent and 45 patents pending.

GM Targets Range and Battery Cost Improvements to Accelerate All-Electric Future

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[regfootball]

‘Pre-production’ by 2023. That is nothing of substance.   That’s an evasive schedule. No production date. Not a number of units available for sale and when.   
 

150,000 miles of testing only?  To really test a new technology there should be a few million aggregate miles on prototypes. If you’re talking a ground breaking technology you are going to invest millions of miles in it. 
 

more typical GM PR fluff. It shows you what they are blowing through money on instead of keeping their model lines fresh and competitive. 
 

check back to cheers and gears in 10 years there will be a recycled version of this story saying similar things. It’s been many years since the EV1 and we still don’t have millions of electrics on the road. That is the pace of how GM works. 

Edited March 13, 2021 by regfootball

[balthazar]

Correction: That is the pace of how the INDUSTRY works.

[daves87rs]

On 3/12/2021 at 11:00 PM, balthazar said:

Correction: That is the pace of how the INDUSTRY works.

I think the biggest question is if it is even going to benefit GM down the road. Besides Ford, no one else is really rushing down this road...yet. Toyota and Honda are just getting their feet wet in EVs.....granted they are doing well with hybrids. Now if their is a greater push for EVs sooner-this could give GM a chance to team up with more companies ....which could be a good thing. Joint ventures are going to be important for the future of the industry....

[carman21]

60% cost reductions won't count for much when the key elements in their battery chemistry are now up dramatically since January 1st. Lithium prices alone is up over 80% YTD. And we haven't seen a global lithium mining production increase in three years. Artificially subsidized and mandated demand against a series of resources with a constrained supply chain that is in its infancy is a recipe for a major EV bottleneck that will throttle optimistic forecasts of exponential EV growth.