GM Will Dump The ‘Ultium’ Branding To Rethink How It Does Batteries: Exec

• GM is about to ditch the Ultium model identify amid a broad shift in battery technique, an government instructed Bloomberg.
• GM will proceed utilizing underlying batteries and expertise platforms, but additionally incorporate LFP and nickel-rich prismatic cells.
• A brand new Battery Cell Growth Middle goals to speed up R&D.

When Normal Motors launched the Ultium electrical automobile platform and battery system 4 years in the past, it mentioned that this plan—one frequent structure and household of modular batteries for all future fashions—would underpin thousands and thousands of EVs for years to come back. It could additionally, in principle, imply GM might make sufficient batteries at scale for EVs to develop into extremely worthwhile. 

However truly scaling up has been a nightmare. Now, GM needs to kill the Ultium model identify, whereas conserving the underlying tech, and alter its strategy in direction of batteries.

That element comes from an interview with former Tesla government and GM’s present battery chief Kurt Kelty in Bloomberg. And in addition to abandoning a reputation that hasn’t actually caught on, Kelty mentioned these strikes imply massive modifications for GM’s battery sport. 

At present, GM’s primary battery companion is LG Power Answer. Now, Kelty mentioned the automaker plans to include totally different battery chemistries and ranging cell shapes to tailor them to specific fashions. GM’s present Ultium packs energy a dozen fashions, from the $35,000 Chevy Equinox EV to the $100,000 GMC Hummer EV, simply in several sizes.

That is prone to change for future fashions.

In keeping with Kelty, there is a “important” change coming to GM’s battery plans that can be revealed on the Investor Day Presentation later in the present day. Which means ditching the one-type-fits-all philosophy and tailoring battery packs to particular person fashions, one thing Tesla and BYD have been doing for years. Which will embody utilizing the present pouch cells for some fashions, however presumably utilizing the easier-to-assemble prismatic cells for others.

GM EVs at present are geared up with nickel-cobalt-manganese-aluminum cells made by the three way partnership with LGES. Now it plans to diversify. The automaker is in talks with Japan’s TDK Corp to supply lithium-iron-phosphate (LFP) batteries within the U.S. utilizing tech licensed from CATL. 

The next-gen Chey Bolt EV will experience on the Ultium platform, however it would use LFP batteries, as has been introduced beforehand. (Though initially, it might not use U.S.-made packs.)

Ultium Cells LLC Battery Plant in Warren, Ohio

LFP batteries are cheaper to supply than nickel-manganese-cobalt (NMC) cells, boast higher thermal efficiency and last more. However they’re much less power dense and therefore extra appropriate for entry stage fashions, just like the rear-wheel drive Tesla Mannequin 3 and the Customary Vary Ford Mustang Mach-E.

To speed up these plans, GM will conduct battery R&D on the Wallace Battery Cell Innovation Middle at GM’s campus in Warren, Michigan and on the new Battery Cell Growth Middle that can be formally introduced on Tuesday. The latter is predicted to be up and working by 2027 and collectively the 2 services will have the ability to develop new packs and get them prepared for manufacturing in 18 months.

GM can be constructing a brand new $3.5 billion battery plant in Indiana in partnership with Samsung SDI to develop nickel-rich prismatic cells.

Kelty mentioned all of that is meant to “considerably” scale back battery weight, drive down prices and make manufacturing much less advanced. GM final yr mentioned was abandoning its objective of promoting 400,000 EVs by mid-2024. Its EV gross sales have been nowhere near that, however they’re bettering steadily. And this revised battery technique would possibly assist it unlock a brand new section of mass manufacturing whereas probably bettering the vary and charging speeds of its EVs.

For all these challenges, together with software program points and transferring gross sales goalposts a number of occasions, GM is doing comparatively properly in electrical gross sales. It simply posted yet one more consecutive quarter of EV deliveries and should shut the yr as America’s no. 2 electrical automaker behind Tesla.

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