Lithium-ion batteries degrade over time. There’s no getting around this fact. GM is going out of its way to pamper the Volt’s pack so as to guarantee up to 40 miles of pure electric range even at 10 years or 150,000 miles of driving. But what happens beyond that?
Most experts believe the [...]
It is being reported that General Motors has chosen the site where it will assemble Chevy Volt battery packs. They have not officially announced this but sources indicate a press event is expected within a month.
The Chevy Volt is dependent on its state-of-the-art lithium-ion battery packs for propulsion. The 16 kwh packs are [...]
Most people here know that GM has contracted with LG Chem to supply large format lithium-ion cells for the Chevy Volt in an agreement that goes out until 2015.
As we have learned from discussions with GM’s battery people, the company continues to work with multiple battery suppliers and is always looking for new cell technology [...]
I recently had the chance to tour GM’s newly opened 33,000 square foot advanced battery lab in Warren Michigan. The first video is here. This is where the Volt’s batteries are being lab tested. Other hybrid systems are being tested here as are cells from outside suppliers.
In this video we see a presentation by Dr. [...]
While in Warren Michigan for the opening of the GM advanced battery lab I along with a group of journalists was given a tour of the facility. I filmed the event (video below). In this segment we hear from Bill Wallace, engineering group manager, GM battery lab. He shows us the current Chevy Volt pack [...]
LG Chem is the Korean company that GM chose to supply the lithium-ion battery cells for the Chevrolet Volt. LG has already begun the process of creating the assembly line that will manufacture the proprietary large format or prismatic cells for the Volt. Those cells will be shipped to the USA and placed into packs [...]
On Monday June 8th, GM despite being amidst a chapter 11 bankruptcy, formally opened its new expansive advanced automotive battery systems lab. I was present for the press conference and heard the announcement live.
The lab is the largest and most technologically advanced automotive battery lab in the United States.
Located in the sprawling 1 mile square [...]
Argonne National Laboratory has been pursuing a research project since mid 2007. The idea is to blend ultracapcitors with lithium-ion batteries in the energy storage system of a PHEV. Lithium-ion batteries are particularly good at energy density whereas ultracapacitors are best in terms of power density. High energy density is needed for traveling long distances, [...]
LG Chem of Korea will be supplying the lithium-ion cells for the first generation Chevy Volts. The company was picked from an initial pool of 27 applicants in March 2007, eventually whittled down to 13 serious contenders. Finally, as announced in January they edged out A123 Systems in terms of preparedness and were awarded [...]
LG Chem is the Korean battery manufacturer GM has chosen to supply lithium ion cells for the Chevy Volt’s battery pack. The company was chosen based on its chemistry, cost, production capacity, purity standards, and ability to deliver on time.
Prabakhar Patil is the CEO of Compact Power Inc, an LG subsidiary that helped GM [...]
GM hosted a press conference on their battery strategy and GMs director of EVs and HEVs Bob Kruse wrote a blog post about it.
As we know, the Volt lithium-ion cell contract went to LG Chem of Korea. Mainly the decision to choose them over A123 was based on the fact that LG was ready [...]
On March 11th, the world heard about a new breakthrough in lithium-ion battery technology. Researchers Gerbrand Ceder and Byoungwoo Kang created a new technique that gives lithium-ion batteries a 100 fold increase in power density. These new batteries when moved from lab to factory could allow charging at 100 times the speed and release [...]