General Motors is using its massive budget and power to try to get ahead of the game on the future of EVs. We knew they have been investing in EVs for quite a while now, but they just dropped some big news to practically make their vision come true.
On October 10, 2021, General Motors announced the Wallace Battery Cell Innovation Center is under construction and will open in mid-2022 in southeast Michigan.
WHat we know about the facility itself
GM does not have a stellar reputation when it comes to reliability. Considering every Bolt produced from 2019 until 2022 has been recalled due to them potentially catching fire, it would make sense that they are altering the production process.
What's odd about this facility is that there are plans for it to grow up to three times the size it will be when it opens. GM says it is "designed for expansion," whatever that means.
The facility will be producing batteries ranging from 600-1200 watt-hours per liter. The various sections of the factory will be "cell test chambers, cell formation chambers, a material synthesis lab...a slurry mixing and processing lab, a coating room, electrolyte production lab, and a forensics lab."
Naming the facility appeared to be rather simple. It is named after Bill Wallace, the former director of Battery Systems and Electrification. He led the people who designed the batteries in both generations of Volts, the Bolt, and the Malibu Hybrid.
What this could mean for the future of GM's EVs
Perhaps those new production methods will be similar to the way Toyota builds their cars, where there is less of an emphasis on completing tasks as efficiently and quickly as possible, and more so on taking time and making sure everything is done correctly.
If this facility all goes to plan, it could make the electric car seriously more popular.
Future electric cars made by GM will probably go head-to-head with EVs from Volkswagen and Tesla while trying to undercut them on price. Especially since GM-made gasoline cars are already cheaper than most of their rivals.