GM increases EV spend, outlines new battery

US automaker GM will increase its spending on electric (EV) and autonomous vehicles to $27bn by 2025 from the $20bn it originally planned.

The investment will help GM reach its new goal of launching 30 all-electric models by 2025. By the end of that same year, GM expects that 40pc of the companies US entries will be battery electric vehicles. GM's previously stated goal was to offer 22 EV models by 2023.

Alongside this, the company moved up the development schedule for 12 EV programs, including the electric Hummer, three other GM branded cars, four Chevrolet models, including a pickup truck and a compact crossover, and four Cadillacs.

The automaker also gave details about what to expect from the second generation of its uItium battery when it is released in 2025. The second-generation battery will be 60pc cheaper than the Chevrolet Bolt battery, while doubling the expected energy density. The first generation ultium battery is 40pc cheaper than those used in the Bolt.

The second-generation battery features a lithium metal anode rather than a traditional anode material such as graphite. Solid state battery start-up Quantumscape predicts solid state batteries, such as those featuring lithium metal, could lower the cost of EV batteries by upward of 20pc compared to traditional lithium-ion batteries.

GM announced the first generation ultium battery in March to help ease its electrification transition. One benefit of the ultium is that the addition of aluminum and increased nickel content allows for the reduction of the cobalt content by upward of 70pc compared to the Bolt battery.

South Korean chemical company LG Chem partnered with GM to manufacture the ultium battery at a plant in Lordstown, Ohio. The plant opens in the first quarter of 2021 and will have a capacity for 30 GWh/yr.

GM is exploring the possibility of licensing its ultium battery and EV architecture to third parties. The company already has a deal with Japanese automaker Honda to jointly develop two new EVs that incorporate the ultium battery.

By Andrew Saucer