• News
  • Guides
  • Reviews
  • Media
  • About
  • News
  • Guides
  • Reviews
  • Media
  • About
Sign up Now (For Free)

Sign up for our newsletter and receive the latest automotive news in your inbox!

Invalid email address
We promise not to spam you. You can unsubscribe at any time.
Thanks for subscribing!
News
Read Now
  • All News
  • Automakers
  • Automobiles
  • Auto Shows
  • Business
  • EVs & Environment
  • Guides
  • Lawsuits/Legal
  • Regulatory
  • Ride-Sharing
  • Safety & Recalls
  • Technology
Recent
  • The Inside Story of the 2024 Ford Mustang Dark Horse
  • Honda’s Big Bet on Fuel-Cell Tech Doesn’t Stop with Passenger Cars
  • First Look: 2024 BMW X5 and X6
  • Nissan, Renault and Mitsubishi Expand Global Partnership
  • Better the Second Time: Mercedes-Benz eSprinter
  • VinFast Raises Launch Concerns by Cutting 80 U.S. Jobs
  • Faraday Future Secures Cash, Prepares to Build Cars
  • BMW Spending $865M in Mexico for EV, Battery Plants
  • Q&A: Dave Marek, Acura Global Creative Director
  • Biden Admin. Makes EV Credits Available to More Buyers
Editor’s Choice
    Reviews
    Read Now
    • All Reviews
      • Feeder
    • Classic Cars
    • Concept Cars
    • Convertibles
    • Coupes
    • Crossovers/CUVs
    • Diesel
    • Hot hatches
    • Hybrids
    • Luxury Vehicles
    • Minivans
    • Muscle Cars
    • Pickups
    • Sedans
    • Sports Cars
    • Super Cars
    • SUVs
    Recent Reviews
    • First Drive: 2023 Honda Accord
    • A Week With: 2023 Lexus GX 460 Black Line
    • A Week With: 2023 BMW X1 xDrive28i
    • A Week With: 2023 Kia Niro EV
    • A Week With: 2023 Hyundai Palisade Calligraphy
    • A Week With: 2023 Ford F-150 Raptor R 4x4 Super Crew
    • A Week With: 2023 Genesis Electrified G80 AWD
    • A Week With: 2023 Land Rover Defender 110 V-8
    • First Drive: 2023 Honda Pilot TrailSport
    • A Week With: 2023 Jaguar F-Type R Coupe
    Editor’s Choice
      Guides
      Car Warranty
      • Endurance Warranty Reviews
      • BMW Extended Warranty
      • Extended Warranty For Cars Over 100k Miles
      • Extended Car Warranty Cost
      • Subaru Extended Warranty
      • CarShield Reviews
      • CarShield Cost
      • Aftermarket Car Warranty
      • CARCHEX Warranty Reviews
      • Reputable Extended Car Warranty Companies
      • Used Car Warranty Companies
      • Best Car Warranty
      • Is CarShield A Scam?
      • Mercedes Extended Warranty
      • CarShield Plans
      Insurance
      • How To Identify A Car Insurance Company
      • Geico Mechanical Breakdown Insurance
      • How Far Back Does A Car Insurance Company Look
      • Mechanical Breakdown Insurance For Used Cars
      • State Farm Mechanical Breakdown Insurance
      • Mechanical Breakdown Insurance From Progressive
      • Dollar A Day Insurance
      • Auto Insurance For SSI Recipients
      • Car Insurance Rates After A Suspended License
      • Auto Insurance For Salvage Vehicles
      • Average Cost of Dodge Ram 1500 Car Insurance
      • Car Insurance Florida
      • Full Coverage Auto Insurance
      • GrubHub Insurance
      • Amazon Delivery Auto Insurance
      Shipping
      • Car Shipping Companies
      • uShip Reviews
      • Auto Shipping From California To Hawaii
      • Montway Auto Transport Reviews
      • Cheap Car Shipping
      • Easy Auto Ship Reviews
      • Auto Shipping Miami
      • Auto Shipping To Alaska
      • Car Shipping Cost
      • Auto Shipping Hawaii
      • Auto Shipping Puerto Rico
      • Sherpa Auto Transport Reviews
      • Auto Shipping Atlanta
      • Auto Shipping Boston
      • Auto Shipping. Chicago
      About
      • About Us
      • Contact Us
      • Terms of Use
      • Privacy Policy
      • Affiliate Disclosure
      • Sitemap
      TheDetroitBureau.com

      More than just “another” place to find news, reviews, spy shots, commentary, features, and guides about the auto industry. TheDetroitBureau doesn’t stop with the press releases or confuse a few lines of opinion with insightful, in-depth reporting.

      Contact Us

      Like what you see? Have some ideas for making The Detroit Bureau.com even better? Let us know, we’d love to hear your voice.

        Media
        Listen Now
        • Headlight News: All Episodes
        More from TheDetroitBureau
        • Guides
        • Latest News
        • Auto Reviews
        • Podcasts
        Headlight News

        TheDetroitBureau.com’s Headlight News offers a look at the past week’s top automotive news stories, as well as what’s coming up in the week ahead. Check out the week’s top story and our latest review…along with a dive into the past with this week in automotive history.

        home > news > Automakers > GM Speeding Up Plans for Battery-Powered Cars and Wind and Solar-Powered Plants

        GM Speeding Up Plans for Battery-Powered Cars and Wind and Solar-Powered Plants

        Annual sustainability report outlines product and manufacturing plans.

        Paul A. Eisenstein
        Paul A. Eisenstein , Publisher & Editor-in-Chief
        July 16, 2020
        GM’s Chief Sustainability Officer Dane Parker outline the company’s plans for not just transforming vehicles, but also the facilities where they’re designed and built.

        The auto industry is undergoing the most “significant transition” it has seen in a century, and General Motors doesn’t intend to be left behind, the automaker’s chief sustainability officer said during a media briefing ahead of the release of GM’s annual sustainability report today.

        If anything, the company is accelerating plans to switch entirely to battery-electric vehicles, even as it continues to develop hydrogen fuel-cell technology. GM also is working to switch to zero-emissions sources to power its plants, said CSO Dane Parker.

        “We’re very confident that … in a five- to 10-year timeframe, we’ll see a very different transportation industry,” Parker told reporters.

        (GM reveals flexible EV platform, new “Ultium” batteries.)

        The Chevrolet Bolt EV will be one of about 20 GM battery-cars on the market by 2023, the automaker says.

        GM was one of the first carmakers to push seriously into electrification, its Chevrolet Volt becoming the first mass-market plug-in hybrid a decade ago. It is now focusing on pure battery-electric vehicles and Parker confirmed it will have “at least 20 by 2023,” about half of them having been previewed last March at one of two GM battery-car events in suburban Detroit.

        That includes two versions of the all-electric GMC Hummer, a pickup and an SUV, coming next year, as well as an extended-length iteration of GM’s current long-range hatchback, the Chevy Bolt.

        All told, the carmaker has now committed to “allocate more than $20 billion of capital and engineering resources to its electric and autonomous vehicle programs between 2020 and 2025,” according to a summary of GM’s 10th annual sustainability report.

        As vehicle development work continues, the Detroit carmaker is also pushing ahead on construction of a new battery plant in Ohio that is part of its partnership with Korea’s LG Chem. The new Ultium batteries set to be produced there will have a higher energy density – meaning more power in a smaller pack – and lower cost, GM President Mark Reuss predicting the company could reach parity on the cost of an electric vehicle compared to a gas model by mid-decade.

        GM just eliminated the Sonic so its Orion (MI) plant that now builds just the Bolt will get a second electric vehicle.

        The Ultium batteries have other advantages, said Parker, noting they will use significant less cobalt than current lithium-ion cells. They will also be easier to replace than current batteries and will eventually be easier to recycle. One of the key goals outlined in the GM report is to either recycle or find post-life uses for Ultium batteries. There are numerous possibilities, Parker noted. That could include being used in grid backup systems that could help prevent blackouts and power surges.

        “The vision we have for an all-electric future will result in the longer-term elimination of internal combustion engines,” said Parker, though he declined to lay out a specific timetable. One reason is that this could vary by market. Different countries, he added, “will have different timelines for us to get there.”

        (GM transforming Poletown plant in primary EV production site.)

        Europe, for example, is pushing aggressively to replace gas and diesel power, backing that with incentives and investments in a charging infrastructure. China is moving rapidly in that direction as well. But, at least under the Trump administration, the U.S. is moving more cautiously.

        GM teased the GMC Hummer during the Super Bowl and has since confirmed there will be both pickup and SUV versions.

        GM isn’t just looking at battery power. The automaker was an early proponent of hydrogen fuel-cell technology and two years ago launched a joint venture with Honda. The Japanese automaker, said Parker, is focusing on automotive applications for fuel cells. GM, on the other hand, is emphasizing stationary applications, such as back-up power for cellphone towers.

        “When we look at what is the faster way to deployment (of zero-emissions vehicles), it’s battery electric,” Parker explained, noting that the big challenge for hydrogen is the lack of a refueling infrastructure. That’s one reason that automakers currently marketing fuel cell vehicles, such as the Honda Clarion, are largely limited to parts of California, where most U.S. hydrogen stations are located.

        Parker did not rule out the possibility that GM could eventually use some of the fuel-cell stacks it plans to build at a new plant in Michigan for transportation applications. But “we do not plan to produce” those vehicles. Instead, he explained, “we are certainly ready to explore options to partner” with another company that might want to produce hydrogen trucks using GM stacks.

        General Motors’ Arlington, Texas plant is using 100% wind-generated power.

        Parker hinted the automaker will have news to make about its hydrogen program “in the coming months.”

        GM has aggressively expanded its approach to clean technologies since Mary Barra became CEO in January 2014. That is not limited to its vehicles. The automaker also wants to switch from conventional to sustainable power sources for its factories. The goal was to get to 100% renewable sources by 2050, said Parker, but that recently was pushed ahead to 2050 worldwide. And the pace is going even more quickly in the U.S.

        The big truck plant in Arlington, Texas is already using 100% wind-generated power and GM recently signed up with the TVA to deliver 100 megawatts of solar energy by 2023. That same year, it expects about 800 mW of clean electricity for its Michigan plants, with a goal of 60% renewable power for all operations in the U.S.

        (GM increases uses of renewable energy.)

        Noting the increased availability of green power, even as prices fall, Parker said “that gives us great confidence in (reaching) that number.”

        How to Care for Your Car

        Cheap Car Warranty

        Editor's Choice

        Best Extended Car Warranty

        Editor's Choice
        Recently Published

        The Inside Story of the 2024 Ford Mustang Dark Horse

        Today
        2023 Honda CR-V hybrid production REL

        Honda’s Big Bet on Fuel-Cell Tech Doesn’t Stop with Passenger Cars

        Today
        2024 BMW X5 xDrive 50e - front 3-4 driving v2

        First Look: 2024 BMW X5 and X6

        Yesterday

        Leave a Reply Cancel reply

        Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

        Share this article:
        © The Detroit Bureau 2023
        • Guides
        • Privacy Policy
        • Terms of Use
        • Affiliate Disclosure
        • Contact Us
        • Sitemap
        Follow Us: