General Motors is building a huge battery lab on their Global Technical Center campus in Warren, Michigan.
According to GM’s press release earlier today, this new facility “will play a pivotal role in advancing GM’s vision of an all-electric future and help pave the way to widespread adoption of EVs.”
This news comes a week after Ford announced their partnership with SK Innovation to build EV plants in Kentucky and Tennessee. That is a large-scale $11.4 billion joint venture that Ford believes to be an important investment into their future. It will also open up the job market, creating 11,000 jobs.
GM has called their new facility the “Wallace Battery Cell Innovation Center” after late GM executive Bill Wallace.
Bill Wallace had a crucial role in developing the batteries for the Chevrolet Volt, Malibu Hybrid, and Bolt EV.
The facility will also be used to “integrate the work of GM-affiliated battery innovators, [which will help] the company reach its stated goal of at least 60 percent lower battery costs with the next generation of Ultium.”
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Through the Wallace Center, General Motors will be able to expand and advance their battery development operations. This will give their battery engineering team the ability to accelerate new technologies like lithium-metal, silicon, and solid state batteries.
GM plans to have the facility up and running by Q3 2022, and producing prototype cells by Q4 2022.