GM Branches Out Investments to Meet EV Goals

DETROIT – General Motors has announced a new collaboration with its GM Ventures investment arm to support a “circular battery ecosystem.”

The partnership with Lithion Recycling Inc., which is slated to launch its first commercial recycling operations in 2023, will be utilizing the company’s advanced battery recycling technology.

GM said the collaboration with Lithion would focus on identifying recovered battery materials suitable for the production for new batteries and research opportunities for the development of recyclable future battery design.

The partnership marks GM officially having partnerships for production on all of its necessary raw battery material – lithium, nickel, cobalt and full cathode active material supply.

Lithion plans to reduce gas emissions by more that 75% and water usage by more 90% as opposed to mining battery materials. The company said these numbers were demonstrated in a third-party lifecycle analysis.

Benoit Couture, president and CEO of Lithion, said the partnership allows for the company to demonstrate its low-carbon economy transition as climate change progresses.

“Working with GM marks a key step in Lithion’s commercial development and pioneers a needed breakthrough in the electrification of transportation by enabling a cost-effective and sustainable circularity in the EV battery industry,” he said.

Jeff Morrison, GM vice president of global purchasing and supply chain, said the battery cell production in North America is accelerating to account for GM’s goal of more than a million EV units of annual capacity in the next few years.

“We plan to eliminate tailpipe emissions from all our light-duty vehicles by 2035 – so we are building a supply chain and recycling strategy that can grow with us,” he said. “In Lithion’s technology, we see the opportunity to recover and reuse raw material in our Ultium battery packs, making the EVs we produce even more sustainable and helping drive down costs.”

GM said it continues to make agreements after its August announcement of Ultium Cells first plant opening in the U.S. and two following subsequent plants.

A fourth battery cell plant will also follow. GM said this is projected to bring the total U.S. battery capacity up to 160 GWh.

As it moves forward, GM said it plans to continue to localize its battery production in North America.

Source: General Motors

Published by The Business Journal, Youngstown, Ohio.