GM Ultium battery

[JoeHam]

Although some speculation is involved here is an interesting look at GM’s bet for the future:

Looks like battery as a structural component is a given.

The speculation about the wireless BMS being able to manage a dissimilar cell being used to repair a pack in the future is a great concept if it works out. This is about 9 minutes into the video.

 

[Steve_S]

Vapourware, it is a PR/Press exercise till they actually make the "Ohh what a Cutesy Name" battery and have real miles of duty behind them.

 

[JoeHam]

Vapourware, it is a PR/Press exercise till they actually make the "Ohh what a Cutesy Name" battery and have real miles of duty behind them.

Usually I would agree with Steve but this Vaporware has broken ground and is hiring workers:

GM CEO: Lordstown battery plant hiring, construction ahead of schedule

Youngstown, Ohio's #1 Locally owned, locally connected television news station.

www.wfmj.com

 

[FilterGuy]

Usually I would agree with Steve but this Vaporware has broken ground and is hiring workers:

GM CEO: Lordstown battery plant hiring, construction ahead of schedule

Youngstown, Ohio's #1 Locally owned, locally connected television news station.

www.wfmj.com

I have no doubt they will produce something they call 'ultium batteries', I also have no doubt they will be a big improvement over the current GM systems. However I agree with Steve and will wait-and-see on the fantastic claims.... particularly the replacement of old cells with newer model cells. That is a great idea in theory, but could put ankle chains on what can be done on newer models. You can bet GM will abandon the backward compatibility as soon as there is even a small advantage in doing so.

The other thing of note is the reluctance to talk price/KWh.... That tells me they are not where they need to be. (If they were, they would be touting it).

Having said that, it is good to see GM getting serious about battery production and building a 'giga-factory'. I hope they do like Tesla and look at every step from the mine to the vehicle in order to drive down costs.

 

[JoeHam]

I have no doubt they will produce something they call 'ultium batteries', I also have no doubt they will be a big improvement over the current GM systems. However I agree with Steve and will wait-and-see on the fantastic claims.... particularly the replacement of old cells with newer model cells. That is a great idea in theory, but could put ankle chains on what can be done on newer models. You can bet GM will abandon the backward compatibility as soon as there is even a small advantage in doing so.

The other thing of note is the reluctance to talk price/KWh.... That tells me they are not where they need to be. (If they were, they would be touting it).

Having said that, it is good to see GM getting serious about battery production and building a 'giga-factory'. I hope they do like Tesla and look at every step from the mine to the vehicle in order to drive down costs.

I couldn't agree more, count me as very skeptical and at the same time very excited that there will be a US based battery factory.

Just as I would be about any modern battery factory outside of China.

More geographical diversity will have multiple benefits for consumers and for availability in general.