General Motors Plans Volt Battery Factory in Michigan

By the end of 2010, General Motors expects to have its first production ready electric car, the Chevrolet Volt, in showrooms across the USA. Highly anticipated, the Volt represents a new direction the giant automaker is going by producing a line of highly energy efficient and environmentally friendly vehicles for the masses.

Before GM can produce one Volt, the company has to have a factory in place that can produce the four hundred pound lithium-ion battery pack that will power the car. To that end, GM has announced that a factory in Michigan will assemble the fuel cells that will be made by South Korea's LG Chem Corporation, investing $30 million to get the job done.

"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."

A location for the plant hasn't been finalized, but the car company is in talks with state and local officials about the placement of the facility. GM expects that the facility will be put quickly in place, allowing the company to start output by early 2010.

"Our announcements are part of a comprehensive advanced battery strategy for GM that is expanding along two pathways," Wagoner said. "First, we're identifying core competencies - such as battery research, development and assembly - and integrating these fundamentals into our product development and manufacturing operations. We believe this will become a competitive advantage for GM, and will be critical to GM's long-term success. Secondly, we're building a roster of battery suppliers and academic experts from around the globe, and leveraging their specialized abilities to develop battery chemistries and cell designs, as well as future automotive battery engineers."

The Volt is expected to be the first of many electric cars built by GM over the coming years. Supplement power will be provided by a 1.4L I4 engine, but on electric power alone the Volt will have a forty mile range. GM expects that the car will appeal to commuters who will be able to plug in their cars each night for a recharge and go about their business the following day.

GM has recently displayed the Cadillac Converj concept, a stylish two door coupe, that is yet another example how the Volt platform could be utilized. GM expects that the Volt will also be sold in Europe under its Opel brand and perhaps in Australia as a Holden model.