GM’s Ultium Bet And Its EV Ambitions

General Motors (GM), which has been among the top 5 automakers worldwide for possibly the longest time, has every  intention of maintaining its pre-eminence in the EV market too. To do that the Detroit-based car-maker has made it’s biggest bet on its own Ultium batteries, that it hopes will be good enough to dethrone even Tesla from the top spot once commercial production can start in full swing. So just why does GM have such high hopes from the Ultium?

Ultium is an electric vehicle battery and motor architecture developed by GM. The Detroit-based GM has made massive investments in EV technology consisting of batteries, motors, software and other components. The most important component of the Ultium platform is the Ultium batteries, that are claimed to be more compact, efficient, and finally cheaper. The flexible battery architecture makes it easier to use these batteries across vehicles types.

Thus, with the Ultium platform, GM hopes to compete for nearly every EV customer in the marketplace, whether they are looking for affordable transportation, luxury vehicles, work trucks, commercial trucks or high-performance machines.

Ultium Batteries

In 2019, GM announced the formation of Ultium Cells LLC, a joint venture with LG Energy Solution, to mass-produce Ultium battery cells in Lordstown, Ohio. Ultium Cells is intended to provide battery cell capacity to support GM’s North American electric vehicle assembly capacity of more than 1 million units by mid-decade. It also aims to supply its products to other automotive companies and industries including rail, aerospace, heavy trucking and marine customers, as per GM’s plans.

What Makes these Batteries so Special?

Ultium batteries are unique as the large-format, pouch-style cells (23x4x0.4 inches) can be stacked vertically or horizontally inside the battery pack. This allows engineers to optimize the battery energy storage and layout of each vehicle design. Furthermore, this helps the cells pack energy more densely than cylindrical shapes can. The arrangement also makes the Ultium batteries easier to recycle and reuse.

Energy options range from 50 to 200-kilowatt hours, which could enable a  Hummer EV pickup to boast over 325 miles range going 0-60 mph in just 3 seconds. Whereas, on a smaller and lighter car, a GM-estimated range of over 400 miles on a full charge

The batteries use an unusual chemistry that reduces cobalt use by 70 per cent, as compared to the prevalent NMC batteries in use. This would help the company to push battery pack costs below $100 per kilowatt-hour. This is crucial considering that the battery largely determines the price of an EV. Such a critical cost level for EVs will make them competitive with even internal combustion engines let alone other EVs.

GM’s future Ultium-powered EVs are designed for Level 2 and DC fast charging. GM claims that second-generation Most will have 400-volt battery packs and up to 200 kW fast charging capability while GM’s truck platform will have 800-volt battery packs and 350 kW fast charging capability. Ultium battery packs will bring down the cost by 60 per cent compared to the batteries in use today.

In terms of wiring, the design and arrangement allow batteries to use far fewer wirings, consequently lessening the extra load and space, thanks to its optimised wireless battery management.

GM has ensured that the Ultium batteries last long and even after relying on DC chargers, one can expect 150,000 to 250,000 charging cycles before the need for replacement.

Investments in Ultium Batteries

Last year, LG Energy Solution and GM announced over $2.3 billion in investment to build its second battery cell manufacturing plant in Spring Hill, Tennessee, United States. The plant is expected to commence operation in late 2023. Once operational, the facility will supply battery cells to GM’s Spring Hill assembly plant.

Earlier this year, Ultium Cells announced a $2.6 billion investment to build its third battery cell manufacturing plant in Lansing, Michigan, US. The plant is expected to open in late 2024 – about a year after the second plant. The facility will supply battery cells to Orion Assembly in Michigan and other GM EV assembly plants and will have 50-gigawatt hours of battery cell capacity when running full production. The state-of-the-art Ultium Cells Lansing plant will use the most advanced and efficient battery cell manufacturing processes.

GM’s Shift to Zero Emissions Mobility

In January 2020, GM announced more than $2 billion in investments in its Factory ZERO. Factory ZERO is GM’s first plant that is 100 per cent devoted to EVs. Later in October that year, GM announced an investment of $2 billion in its Spring Hill, Tennessee assembly plant to begin the transition to become the company’s third vehicle manufacturing site to produce EVs, joining Factory ZERO in Detroit and Hamtramck, Michigan, and Orion Assembly in Orion Township, Michigan.

In January 2021, GM unveiled a new wing, BrightDrop. BrightDrop aims to offer an ecosystem of electric first-to-last-mile products, software and services for delivery and logistics companies.

GM plans to launch 30 EVs globally by the end of 2025. The company planned an investment of over $27 billion through 2025 for the development of EVs and AVs.