GM on Track to Significantly Shift Battery Technologies for Energy Storage, EVs

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Written by Eric Funderburk for IIR News Intelligence (Sugar Land, Texas)

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Summary

GM is taking the road less traveled in its plans to replace lithium-ion battery technology with sodium-ion technology for energy storage batteries and lithium-manganese-rich (LMR) batteries in its EVs.

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New Goals

2028. That's the date General Motors Company (GM) plans to begin deploying some radically different types of battery technologies for both energy storage systems and electric vehicles (EVs) on a commercial scale. The new types of batteries are being researched and developed at the company's Wallace Battery Cell Innovation Center at its automotive technology center in Warren, Michigan, accompanied by scaled-down initial production at the nearby Battery Cell Development Center.

Moving into Energy Storage

The grand scale of EV adoption envisioned in the U.S. only a few years ago hasn't met optimistic predictions, and a change in U.S. presidential administrations has ushered in a complete about-face in regard to EVs, affecting everything from tax rebates to the buildout of charging infrastructure. But a small problem emerged: U.S. automakers have a lot of battery-manufacturing capacity on their hands in a much more tepid EV market than planned for.

Tesla, of course, has long manufactured batteries for the BESS market as a core part of its business, but Ford announced a completely new business endeavor to relieve its overcapacity problem: battery energy storage systems (BESS). The company shifted some of its battery manufacturing capacity from automotive-scale to grid- and industry- (think data center)scale, naming the president of its new BESS-manufacturing unit in late January this year. Ford Motor Company is now on its way to converting an automotive battery plant in Kentucky into an exclusively BESS-focused facility.

Earlier this year, not long after Ford's movement into the BESS sector, GM announced it would make a similar leap. On Tuesday, the company announced it will begin producing batteries for BESS units this month at its Ultium Cells plant in Spring Hill, Tennessee. Ultium Cells is a GM joint venture with South Korea's LG Energy Solutions, which already has a commercial energy-storage division. Industrial Info Resources data show retooling the Spring Hill plant cost around $35 million.

In addition to traditionally being automakers, Ford and GM have something else in common in their BESS battery endeavors: both are using lithium-iron-phosphate (LFP) technology for the energy-storage market. LFP chemistry is less prone to overheating than older lithium-ion technology and has a longer lifespan. In addition, fully charging or discharging LFP batteries on a regular basis does not carry the negative consequences this causes lithium-ion cells. The tradeoff is that LFP cells are heavier and bulkier than other technologies, which makes them well suited to larger BESS applications, although GM does use the technology in its lower-priced EVs.

Ford's work in Kentucky is geared toward LFP technology, and while GM is on board with manufacturing LFP BESS technology at the moment, in the near future it hopes to be manufacturing an entirely different type of battery for the energy-storage market: sodium-ion batteries.

Another Partnership

GM is partnering with battery developer Peak Energy to refine sodium-ion battery technology into something that can be employed for energy storage use. In a June 9 press release, GM touted the benefits of sodium-ion technology, with one of the key positive elements being that the batteries can operate without an active cooling system in place. Lithium-based systems often require some sort of active cooling element, which requires its own energy, equipment and maintenance. GM also noted that sodium is much more abundant and accessible than lithium and that it hopes to develop a next-generation sodium-ion battery with a high energy density that could rival that of LFP technology.

GM hopes to further develop and refine the technology in the coming years, with an aim to make the sodium-ion cells commercially available by 2028.

And that's not the only change GM has in store for batteries in 2028.

New EV Battery Technology

GM is, after all, an automaker, and it is not neglecting the batteries used in its range of EVs. However, by 2028, the company hopes to radically alter the types of batteries it uses in its vehicles. While GM employs LFP battery technology in its less expensive EVs such as the Chevrolet Bolt, most EV models use nickel-manganese-cobalt (NMC) battery chemistry, which is energy dense but pricier.

At its battery development center in Warren, Michigan, GM is at work on replacement technology for NMC in the form of lithium-manganese-rich (LMR) batteries, which the company says it is developing to be nearly as energy dense as NMC cells, but at a substantially lower price.

GM initially announced its LMR endeavors last year and elaborated on several benefits of the new technology. Among the positive aspects is significantly less use of nickel and cobalt, which are not readily available from U.S. sources and can be expensive in a high-demand environment. Using a Chevrolet Silverado electric pickup as an example, GM noted that using LMR battery technology could reduce the price by as much as $6,000 per vehicle, while not sacrificing much of its 492-mile range on a full charge. GM has suggested it will use the LMR batteries in its mid-range EVs, reserving LFP batteries for lower-price EV offerings and maintaining NMC technology in high-end vehicles.

Once again, the Ultium Cells joint venture will be a key player in manufacturing the batteries. As Ultium's Tennessee plant is currently gearing up for BESS battery production, a likely candidate for the shift to increased LMR battery production is Ultium's facility in Warren, Ohio, which currently produces NCM batteries.

Key Takeaways

• GM hopes to begin commercial deployment of sodium-ion batteries for energy storage systems by 2028.
• The company this month will begin producing LFP cells for the BESS market at its Ultium Cells plant in Spring Hill, Tennessee, a joint venture with LG Energy Solutions.
• Also by 2028, GM hopes to begin using LMR battery technology in its mid-range EVs, which could significantly lower prices while maintaining much of a vehicle's mileage range.

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