GM Issues Electric Update: Batteries And Vehicle Testing Hitting Milestones
by
Alex Luft
Posted April 17th, 2010 at 11:46 pm
General Motors has issued an update on its electric vehicle efforts, stating that calibration drives of the upcoming Chevy Volt achieved 39.9 miles of emissions-free electric-only driving range, which is exactly in line with what has been promised by The General for a few years now.
Andrew Farah, chief engineer for the Volt and Opel Ampera, said that Volt pre-production vehicles have already clocked in more than 500,000 test miles and that Volt production is on track for the fourth quarter of this year.
Lastly, Micky Bly, GM executive director of global electrical systems, hybrids, and electric vehicles & batteries said that GM’s Browstown Township, Michigan battery plant is slated to build more than 300 pre-production battery packs. Putting two and two together, we’re guessing that these will be used in the pre-production Volt units that started pre-production two weeks ago.
These updates come on the heels of GM releasing the official Volt specs and the automaker’s announcement that it will invest $8 million to double the size of its Warren, Michigan battery lab. To date, more than 850,000 miles of customer use lab testing have been completed on the battery pack design for the Volt and Ampera (probably in the battery lab). We have GM’s full press release after the break. (more…)
GM To Invest $8 Million, Double Size Of Battery Lab In Warren, Michigan
by
Alex Luft
Posted April 13th, 2010 at 5:28 pm
General Motors has announced that it will double the size of its Global Battery Systems lab in Warren, Michigan. The lab is currently the largest and most technologically-advanced battery facility in the United States and GM is pushing to further expedite development of electrically-driven vehicles with this expansion.
The lab began operations in January 2009 and is located on the GM Technical Center campus in Warren. It currently consists of the following departments:
- Packing testing and development (14,400 sq. ft.)
- Cell and module development (17,400 sq. ft.)
- Technical support (2,000 sq. ft.)
GM’s plan to expand the facility, known as Phase Two, will cost $8 million and add 30,000 sq. ft. to the existing space, bringing the total size of the facility to 63,000 sq. ft. The goal of the investment is to improve on-site testing of all current and new battery cell, module, and pack technologies. (more…)
Talent Drain: GM Director Of Global Battery Systems Leaves Today – Goodbye Denise Gray
by
Alex Luft
Posted March 5th, 2010 at 1:04 pm
Denise Gray, Director of global battery systems engineering and 30 year GM veteran, has announced that she will leave The General for a battery startup in California.
Since 2006, Gray oversaw the testing and development of batteries going into plug-in and non plug-in versions of GM hybrids and extended-range electric vehicles (EV). She also worked with battery suppliers in examining how new cell technologies could potentially be used in future production vehicles. It was on Gray’s watch that GM produced its first lithium-ion battery pack for the Chevrolet Volt. Most recently, Gray was the strategic lead for battery development on the Volt.
Gray said that she could not disclose the name of the startup company, but did say that it is in California and that it is still running in stealth mode, so this rules out Better Place and Tesla Motors. She said that she was looking forward to building the start-up’s operation from the ground-up which is in stark contrast to her position at GM – where she focused on a single segment of a massive business. Gray’s last day at GM is today – Friday, March 5, 2010. Click past the break to read more and get the full GM Authority Take!
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