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

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

When Common 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 hundreds of thousands of EVs for years to come back. It will additionally, in idea, imply GM may make sufficient batteries at scale for EVs to change into extremely worthwhile. 

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

That element comes from an interview with former Tesla govt and GM’s present battery chief Kurt Kelty in Bloomberg. And apart from abandoning a reputation that hasn’t actually caught on, Kelty mentioned these strikes imply large adjustments for GM’s battery recreation. 

At the moment, GM’s predominant battery associate 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 more likely to change for future fashions.

Based on Kelty, there is a “important” change coming to GM’s battery plans that will likely be revealed on the Investor Day Presentation later right this moment. Meaning 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 embrace utilizing the present pouch cells for some fashions, however presumably utilizing the easier-to-assemble prismatic cells for others.

GM EVs at the moment 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 provide lithium-iron-phosphate (LFP) batteries within the U.S. utilizing tech licensed from CATL. 

The next-gen Chey Bolt EV will trip on the Ultium platform, however it is going to 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 provide 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 degree fashions, just like the rear-wheel drive Tesla Mannequin 3 and the Normal 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 Improvement Middle that will likely be formally introduced on Tuesday. The latter is anticipated to be up and operating by 2027 and collectively the 2 services will be capable to develop new packs and get them prepared for manufacturing in 18 months.

GM can also 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” cut back battery weight, drive down prices and make manufacturing much less advanced. GM final 12 months mentioned was abandoning its purpose 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 part of mass manufacturing whereas probably bettering the vary and charging speeds of its EVs.

For all these challenges, together with software program points and shifting gross sales goalposts a number of occasions, GM is doing comparatively nicely in electrical gross sales. It simply posted one more consecutive quarter of EV deliveries and should shut the 12 months as America’s no. 2 electrical automaker behind Tesla.

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