General Motors is betting that a new battery chemistry and a recently opened development facility will help revive its electric vehicle plans and lower costs.
At the center of that effort is the Battery Cell Development Center (BCDC), a 500,000-square-foot facility at GM’s Warren Technical Center outside Detroit. The automaker said the site will help it bring new battery technologies to market about a year sooner than previously planned.
GM expects the effort to cut EV costs by nearly 10%.
New chemistry becomes the focus
Leading the initiative is Kurt Kelty, GM’s vice president of battery and sustainability and a former Tesla battery executive.
Kelty said a new battery chemistry known as lithium-manganese-rich (LMR) will become the company’s primary technology.
“That is really going to be our bread and butter,” Kelty said.
“That is going to be our main product line.”
GM plans to introduce vehicles using LMR batteries by 2028.
Moving beyond Ultium
GM’s battery strategy has evolved as the company adapts to changing market conditions and growing competition from Chinese automakers and battery manufacturers.
Its current EV lineup relies on the Ultium platform, which largely uses nickel-manganese-cobalt (NMC) batteries.
Rising material costs and China’s control over key minerals have made NMC batteries more expensive than expected. GM said NMC technology will remain in higher-end vehicles.
The company is instead focusing on LMR batteries, which it says offer energy density close to NMC while approaching the costs of lithium-iron-phosphate (LFP) batteries.
Last year, GM said the new chemistry could lower costs in a Chevrolet Silverado EV by at least $6,000 while preserving most of the truck’s range of more than 400 miles.
Filling a missing link
GM opened its Wallace Battery Cell Innovation Center and its first gigafactory in 2022.
The new BCDC facility is intended to connect research and mass production.
Its role includes:
- Testing battery designs developed at the Wallace center.
- Determining whether they are ready for large-scale manufacturing.
- Refining production processes before batteries move to gigafactories.
When fully operational, the BCDC will be capable of producing:
- About 2,500 cells per day.
- Roughly 0.5 gigawatt-hours annually.
The Wallace center, by comparison, produces only about 30 to 50 cells per day.
Bridging laboratory and factory
Scaling up battery production remains one of the industry’s biggest challenges.
According to a McKinsey report cited by GM, a battery chemistry that cannot achieve an 85% yield within 18 months on a production line should not be considered commercially viable.
Kelty said manufacturing large-format cells differs significantly from producing small research samples.
“Once you learn how to make the recipe in Wallace, then you’ve got to figure out, well, how do you make this in high volume?” he said.
“You really learn a lot going from that coin cell to the large format because it doesn’t transfer perfectly.”
A production trial at the BCDC costs around $200,000, far less than conducting tests at a full-scale Ultium plant.
Kelty said similarities between the equipment used at the BCDC and GM’s factories should make the transition to mass production easier.
Smaller than a gigafactory, larger than a lab
The BCDC is significantly smaller than GM’s battery plant in Tennessee.
Comparison of facilities:
| Facility | Size | Annual Output |
|---|---|---|
| Wallace Battery Cell Innovation Center | Research scale | 30-50 cells per day |
| Battery Cell Development Center | 500,000 sq. ft. | 2,500 cells per day, 0.5 GWh |
| Tennessee Ultium plant | 2.8 million sq. ft. | 45 GWh, about 300,000 cells annually |
“The BCDC is intended to bridge the gap,” said Mo Gallegos, who leads the facility at GM.
EV plans face challenges
GM has faced headwinds in the U.S. EV market.
Last year, the company recorded a $1.6 billion charge while restructuring EV production and laid off thousands of workers.
It has also reportedly delayed a refresh of its full-size electric trucks and SUVs.
Despite the slowdown affecting parts of the industry, GM is betting that lower-cost batteries will help strengthen its position in the market.
TL;DR:
GM is relying on a new lithium-manganese-rich battery and a 500,000-square-foot development facility near Detroit to cut EV costs and speed up production. The company aims to launch LMR-powered vehicles by 2028.
AI summary:
- GM’s new Battery Cell Development Center will support future EV batteries.
- The company is betting on lithium-manganese-rich battery chemistry.
- GM says the technology could cut EV costs by nearly 10%.
- LMR batteries are expected to reach vehicles by 2028.
- The facility is designed to bridge research and mass production.
