General Motors has made massive investments in EV technology, hedging its bets that its new Ultium platform, which consists of batteries, motors, software and other components, will help grow EV market share and overtake Tesla as the No. 1 EV maker.
The automaker introduced the Ultium EV platform in March 2020 and will deliver the first vehicles built around it this year.
GM batteries are the heart of the Ultium platform. The company developed the batteries in partnership with LG Energy Solutions, a division of the Korean conglomerate LG Corp.
The batteries use a chemistry that reduces expensive and tough-to-source cobalt by 70%. GM says this will push battery pack costs below $100 per kilowatt to make them competitive with internal combustion engines.
GM’s system for managing its battery pack also differs from competitors. The Ultium platform allows GM to run battery cells with different chemistries in the same pack, so parts of the pack can be replaced as time goes on.
GM believes these innovations will make it a leader in EVs in North America by 2025.
