Photo: GM
Despite the hard time GM and its customers are still having with the Chevrolet Bolt EV, the company knows its future – and everyone else’s in the automotive industry – lies on electric cars. That’s why the company announced on October 15 that it would build the Wallace Battery Cell Innovation Center in Warren, Michigan. The center will prepare better cells for the company but is also a tribute to Bill Wallace.
This director of Battery Systems and Electrification died in 2018 but is considered by GM as a crucial piece in building the company’s current competencies in cells. Wallace helped to develop the battery packs for the two generations of the Chevrolet Volt.
On the other hand, he also worked on the Bolt EV and “pioneered GM’s relationship with LG Chem R&D.” The battery supplier changed its name to LGES (LG Energy Solution) and got involved in two massive recalls for battery defects. It made the batteries for the Hyundai Kona Electric and the Chevrolet Bolt EV. The company is also a supplier to the Volkswagen ID family and the Ford Mustang Mach-E.
The Wallace Battery Cell Innovation Center is currently under construction. The plan is to complete it by mid-2022 and to have the first prototype cells made there in Q4 2022. Currently, GM already has more than 2,000 patents related to batteries, granted or pending. The company’s primary goal is “60 percent lower battery costs with the next generation of Ultium,” but it also mentioned some other interests.
GM disclosed that the Wallace Battery Cell Innovation Center should “accelerate new technologies like lithium-metal, silicon, and solid-state batteries.” Curiously, solid-state batteries seem to be closely related to lithium metal as an anode. Apart from that, the company did not mention promising chemistries such as LFP (lithium iron phosphate) and Li-S (lithium-sulfur).
Most carmakers want to improve LFP for its low cost, which should make electric cars more affordable. Tesla and BYD already use it, and Volkswagen announced that it plans to adopt it for entry-level vehicles. GM may have avoided mentioning them to keep its studies under the radar. Another possibility is that it just does not believe in these cells. Future news coming from the Wallace Battery Cell Innovation Center may help clarify that.
On the other hand, he also worked on the Bolt EV and “pioneered GM’s relationship with LG Chem R&D.” The battery supplier changed its name to LGES (LG Energy Solution) and got involved in two massive recalls for battery defects. It made the batteries for the Hyundai Kona Electric and the Chevrolet Bolt EV. The company is also a supplier to the Volkswagen ID family and the Ford Mustang Mach-E.
The Wallace Battery Cell Innovation Center is currently under construction. The plan is to complete it by mid-2022 and to have the first prototype cells made there in Q4 2022. Currently, GM already has more than 2,000 patents related to batteries, granted or pending. The company’s primary goal is “60 percent lower battery costs with the next generation of Ultium,” but it also mentioned some other interests.
GM disclosed that the Wallace Battery Cell Innovation Center should “accelerate new technologies like lithium-metal, silicon, and solid-state batteries.” Curiously, solid-state batteries seem to be closely related to lithium metal as an anode. Apart from that, the company did not mention promising chemistries such as LFP (lithium iron phosphate) and Li-S (lithium-sulfur).
Most carmakers want to improve LFP for its low cost, which should make electric cars more affordable. Tesla and BYD already use it, and Volkswagen announced that it plans to adopt it for entry-level vehicles. GM may have avoided mentioning them to keep its studies under the radar. Another possibility is that it just does not believe in these cells. Future news coming from the Wallace Battery Cell Innovation Center may help clarify that.
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