GM Chooses Michigan For Battery Manufacturing

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GM - Lithium-Ion Battery Pack

“General Motors is getting back into the battery business.” GM CEO Rick Waggoner

Apparently $335 million in tax breaks is just too hard to pass up. As expected, General Motors has announced that they will be establishing the first lithium-ion battery pack manufacturing facility operated by a major automaker in the United States, and they will be doing it right there in the state of Michigan. The new type of battery will be the driving force behind the Chevrolet Volt.
“The design, development and production of advanced batteries must be a core competency for GM, and we’ve been rapidly building our capability and resources to support this direction,” Wagoner said. “This is a further demonstration of our commitment to the electrification of the automobile and to the Chevrolet Volt – a commitment that now totals more than $1 billion.”
Michigan lawmakers have been hard at work to ensure that it would in fact be the state chosen for such an operation. It is a state that has been as hard hit as any during this economic crisis and they have great hopes that GM’s decision will give them the jump-start they’re looking for. It looks like their hard work has payed off.
General Motors also announced that Korea-based LG chem has been chosen and will be supplying the lithium-ion cells being used in the batteries. According to GM, “Facility preparation will begin in early 2009, with production tooling to be installed mid-year and output starting in 2010.”

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Tags: battery, general motors, lithium-ion

Category: Battery News