Batteries of GM’s Ultium EVs will be upgradeable…
Buyers of forthcoming EVs from brands like Chevrolet, Cadillac and Hummer will be able to install better batteries through the life of the vehicle, according to a senior company executive.
GM president Mark Reuss revealed the news during an interview aired as part of the company’s participation in the all-digital Consumer Electronics Show 2021, where it has already shown some whacky Cadillac concepts and promised remote control apps that can unlock premium features.
Reuss, an American engineer who headed Holden from 2008 to 2009, was discussing the advantages of the Ultium batteries GM will install in the 30 new EVs it will launch between now and 2025.
They include the GMC Hummer EV and flagship Cadillac Celestiq luxury EV.
Ultium is designed around a standardised lithium-ion pouch cell, to be produced in a joint venture with Korean company LG Chem. GM has developed a small number of standardised modules to house the cells. These modules are then assembled into battery packs sized and shaped to fit the wide range of EVs planned by GM.
“The modular nature of the cells and the module of the cell is really quite flexible,” Reuss explained, before getting to the interesting bit…
“It’s backward compatible,” he said. “In other words, when we get to a new chemistry we’ll be able to retrofit everything we have.”
There will be reasons for customers to upgrade.
“We’re going to get better and better at batteries. Our company is on a glide path where we are continually decreasing the cell cost through chemistry and power density.”
As the most expensive component of an EV, having batteries that can be upgraded is big news, potentially extending the life of the vehicle.
It also means that as the EV batteries wear out owners will be able to replace them with ones that will presumably have a significantly better range.
“Over the last five prior years we have roughly cut the cost of our batteries in half,” Reuss said. But, turning to the future, the exec wasn’t sure GM would be able to sustain this rate of progress.
“I think you’ll see some pretty big improvements. I don’t know if it’s half. It’s hard to have a crystal ball.”
GM – which in 2020 killed off the once dominant Holden brand – is emerging as the most committed and best prepared of the US car makers for the EV age. Reuss revealed that the company decided to effectively abandon hybrid and plug-in hybrid tech some time ago.
“We said, about two years ago, that we didn’t want to spend another dollar … doing things that carry two propulsion systems on a hybrid basis, because we’re going to be all-in on a battery electric basis.”
