Gm’s Top Priority: Battery Research

The General Motors Corp. Chairman and CEO Rick Wagoner told investors today that the automaker has signed two suppliers to develop an advanced battery technology for the Chevy Volt's E-Flex system.

The Detroit-based automaker is currently in a close race with Asian rivals to develop an affordable battery with sufficient lasting power. This is a move critical to GM's efforts to build an electric vehicle. In January, GM announced plans to build the Volt electric vehicle, which would be powered by a lithium ion battery. The largest American automaker is developing a system for the Volt called the E-Flex, which matches battery power with several different energy sources.

The challenge is to create a battery that can recharge quickly, last long stretches of time and not overheat, while being small and cost-effective enough to sell on the mass market. "Given the huge potential that the Volt and its E-Flex system offers to lower oil consumption, lower oil imports and reduce carbon gas emissions, this is for sure a top priority program for GM," Wagoner said.

Troy-based Compact Power Inc. and Continental Automotive Systems, a subsidiary of Continental AG, are the two new technology suppliers of the automaker. They were chosen from a field of 13 contenders. Compact Power will launch a yearlong development program that aims to have a battery pack ready for an in-car test by next summer, the company said in a statement.

In addition to the Volt, GM is developing a number of battery-powered hybrid systems, including a plug-in Saturn Vue hybrid and a system for full-size SUVs. GM's annual meeting got under way shortly before 9 a.m. today at the Hotel du Pont in Wilmington, Del.

Wagoner, in his speech at the annual GM meeting Wednesday at the Hotel du Pont in Wilmington, Del., outlined priorities for GM in 2007. “A labor deal with the United Auto Workers union will be key, as will resolving negotiations with bankrupt part supplier Delphi Corp. Tackling GM's suffocating health care costs, which last year amounted to $4.8 billion, is also critical,” Wagoner said.

He added, “GM will continue to focus on its businesses outside the United States, which last year accounted for more than 60 percent of the company's global sales. The company also will work to further integrate its global operations, cutting costs by adopting uniform standards throughout its worldwide operations.”

Wagoner said that GM will also focus on developing advanced fuel technology that will reduce vehicle dependence on fossil fuels with programs such as the E-Flex system. "It's not about short-term initiatives to react to short-term challenges," he stressed. "We're taking the profound actions necessary to transform the company for the long haul."

Evelyn Davis, an activist shareholder, labeled Wagoner and executives ‘accounting flunkies.’ She added that even though she is a Republican, she plans to vote for Hillary Clinton. "I'm sure Senator Clinton will be happy to hear that," said Wagoner, who also clarified that his degree is not in accounting, as Davis had said.

Fritz Henderson, GM's chief financial officer, tackled faulty accounting practices that have compelled the automaker to restate financial results for several years and resulted in an investigation by the Securities and Exchange Commission. "We're not at all proud of that," Henderson said of the restatements. To address the problems like the efficient Borla exhaust, Henderson said that GM has brought in a new controller, a new chief accountant and added more than 30 people to its accounting staff.