Science & Tech · Gadgets & EVs · 9 hrs ago
GM builds battery center to develop cheaper EV cells
GM is building a Battery Cell Development Center at its campus in Warren, Michigan.
The facility will make small batches of prototype battery cells rather than produce batteries at full factory scale.
GM wants to lower the cost of its electric vehicles, because batteries account for a large share of a vehicle’s price.
The center is intended to help move new battery designs from research into mass production.
Some designs, including GM’s lithium manganese-rich cells, use little or no cobalt or nickel, minerals whose supply and processing are dominated by China.
GM is also working with Peak Energy on sodium-ion cells for energy storage.
Developing new battery types and scaling them up can take a decade or more, so the center is meant to speed that process.
Whether it succeeds could affect GM’s ability to make more affordable EVs and compete with other automakers.
GM is building a Battery Cell Development Center in Warren, Michigan, to develop prototype cells aimed at lowering the cost of electric vehicles.
The center is designed to bridge laboratory research and high-volume production through virtual modeling, physical testing and small-scale production lines.
The two buildings that will house it total half a million square feet, and the construction project was still in progress during the article’s reporting.
GM is developing cell chemistries that use fewer minerals such as cobalt and nickel, which are controlled globally by China.
The facility will be a low-volume factory for prototyping cells before production at larger factories.
- Who
- General Motors (GM).
- What
- GM is building a Battery Cell Development Center to develop and prototype battery cells, including lower-cost EV cells.
- When
- The project was still in progress at the time of the article, published October 12, 2026. An opening date is not stated.
- Where
- Warren, Michigan, on GM’s campus, about 15 miles north of Detroit.
- Why
- GM aims to lower EV costs and develop cells that use fewer minerals controlled by China.
This story does not have two clearly opposing sides.
GM announced it was working with startup Peak Energy on sodium-ion cells for energy storage.
GM battery executive Kurt Kelty described the center as a bridge from research and development to production.
A Verge reporter toured the facility while construction was still in progress.
- Location
- Warren, Michigan
- Building space
- Half a million square feet across two buildings
- Distance
- About 15 miles north of Detroit
- Cell chemistry
- GM’s lithium manganese-rich cells use very little cobalt or nickel
- Prototype facility
- Low-volume factory for developing cells before higher-volume production
What people are saying
the critical bridge from R&D lab to production
Sources
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