"The new global GM battery lab will benefit consumers across America by helping us advance the development of battery technology in the United States and put cleaner, more efficient vehicles on the road more quickly and affordably," said Fritz Henderson, GM president and CEO. "Our new lab improves GM's competitiveness by speeding the development of our hybrid, plug-in and extended-range electric vehicles, including the Chevrolet Volt."
General Motors first gave us a hint into how the future battery center will look like in December 2007, with construction starting in August 2008. Operations officially commenced this January but the plant became fully functional in May. Its maximum power capacity goes as high as 6 megawatts which, according to GM, would be enough to provide power to approximately 1,400 homes.
The facility covers an area of 33,000 sq. ft and will employ more than 1,000 engineers, all of them focused on development of hybrid and electric vehicles.
"This facility is state-of-the-art and represents one of the largest and most capable battery test labs in the world," said Jim Queen, GM group vice president, Global Engineering. "More than half of the lab is dedicated to testing the electrochemical battery cells and their enclosures, known as modules, a capability not available in GM's previous battery lab. The lab's remaining floor space is committed to evaluating completed battery packs."
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