With the expansion of its battery lab, GM hopes to come up with better, cheaper batteries for vehicles like the Chevy Volt.
General Motors is investing $8 million to double the size of the battery research lab at its Warren, Michigan technical center.
The expansion of the facility, which will grow to 30,000 square feet, will not only make it easier for the automaker to improve on-site testing, but also help it develop more advanced batteries for an expanding line-up of electric vehicles it plans to bring to market in the coming years, said Micky Bly, the executive in charge of GM’s various battery vehicle programs.
The carmaker’s push into “electrification” begins in November, when it launches production of the Chevrolet Volt, an extended-range electric vehicle, or EREV. Chevy has already begun so-called pre-production of Volt prototypes and, in a Monday news briefing, GM officials confirmed that the battery car will deliver an average range of 40 miles per charge, while it is expected to yield an average 50 miles per gallon using its small internal combustion engine, once the batteries are discharged.