GM executive: cobalt content of quaternary lithium battery reduced by 70%, factory to be built soon

At present, General Motors is cooperating with LG Chemical to develop Ultium, a power battery, which is an NCMA quaternary lithium battery. By adding aluminum, the cobalt metal content in the battery can be reduced by about 70%. As cobalt metal is very expensive, this will effectively reduce the production cost of power batteries.

It is not enough to design batteries alone. General Motors is also preparing for large-scale battery production. The company is building a new battery factory in Ohio with LG Chem, and the annual production capacity of the new battery factory is initially planned. Will reach 30GWh.

In addition, GM is also designing a new battery that will be more advanced than Ultium and have a service life of more than 1 million miles (about 1.61 million kilometers). At the same time, GM is also studying cobalt-free batteries, solid-state electrolytes, overcharging and other technologies.

1. quaternary lithium battery can reduce costs and adapt to various models

At GM Electric Vehicle Day in March this year, GM demonstrated a new battery product Ultium, which is jointly produced by GM and LG Chemical. Recently GM held an online conference on power batteries, at which Tim Grewe, GM's director of battery engineering and electrification strategy, introduced the battery again. The battery core of

universal new electric vehicle platform

Ultium battery will use NCMA quaternary lithium battery newly developed by LG chemistry. the technical principle of this battery is to mix a small amount of aluminum element into NCM ternary lithium cathode material, so that the originally active high nickel ternary cathode material can maintain a relatively stable state while maintaining high energy density.

The most important thing is that the NCMA quaternary lithium battery can reduce the cobalt content in the battery by about 70%. Because the price of cobalt is very expensive, the cost of the battery will be significantly reduced.

Nevertheless, GM and LG Chem are also looking for other ways to reduce battery costs. Adam Kwiatkowski, executive chief engineer of GM's electric propulsion system, said they are studying initiatives such as investing in mines and cooperating with metal refiners.

In addition, the ability to quickly scale production is also very important for battery companies. Tim Grewe believes that the size and shape of the battery will determine the production speed of the battery.

The new battery will adopt the production process of lamination, lay the electrodes flat and then weld them to form a pouch battery. Such batteries can be stacked either vertically for use in pickups or horizontally in low-slung sports cars.

GM's

car company cooperating with LG can also use the foot space of the vehicle to arrange the battery more flexibly. Tim Grewe said that after adopting the horizontal stacking technology, the foot space of the electric vehicle can accommodate at least 22kWh of battery.

Tim Grewe believes that after the new battery is adopted, the recycling cost of the battery will also be reduced.

When battery recycling companies disassemble the battery, it is easy to mix the positive and negative electrodes of the battery, and it takes time to separate them. However, the two sides of the bag battery are the positive and negative electrodes of the battery, so when disassembling, even if the battery is disassembled directly by hand, the positive and negative electrodes will not be mixed, which effectively reduces the cost of recycling.

2. new battery factory starts construction this year with an initial production capacity of 30GWh

Obviously, GM and LG are ready for the production of new batteries, but at present they still lack the last thing, which is the factory needed to produce batteries.

However, GM is also showing a concept map of the factory recently. The new factory will be located in the Lordstown area of Ohio, covering an area of 30 football fields.

The name of the new factory is Ultium Cells LLC, which is also the name of a joint venture between GM and LG Chemical. GM and LG Chemical jointly invested US $2.3 billion (about 16.3 billion yuan) for construction. After completion, it can provide More than 1100 jobs. Construction of the

plant will begin in mid -2020 and is expected to begin production by 2022, with the plant's capacity likely to peak by 2023.

The initial capacity target of the plant is 30GWh. As demand increases, the plant's capacity may be further expanded or even doubled.

GM-LG Chem Factory in Lordstown, Ohio Rendering

In the future, GM will purchase the power batteries needed by LG Chem for its vehicles. When the Ultium Cells LLC factory is put into production, the batteries will be supplied by this factory. Such a positive layout of power batteries is also inseparable from GM's electric plan. GM CEO Mary Barra reiterated earlier this year that GM plans to sell 1 million electric vehicles a year in the United States and China by 2025.

However, Tim Grewe said that the Ohio plant will only produce pouch batteries used in electric vehicles sold in the United States, and electric vehicles sold to China will use prismatic batteries, which will be produced in China.

3. GM is studying million-kilometer batteries and a number of new battery technologies

Although Ultium batteries are already relatively advanced, GM has not stopped continuing its research and development of power batteries.

GM Executive Vice President Doug Parks said at an online investor conference that GM is working on a new power battery that will last more than 1 million miles (1.61 million kilometers).

What's interesting is that earlier this month, Tesla just announced that it will launch a new battery with a service life of more than 1 million miles (about 1.61 million kilometers).

GM released the news of the new battery at this time, and Tesla means very strong competition. Regardless of this competition, if GM and Tesla really launch a battery with a service life of more than 1 million miles (about 1.61 million kilometers), it will effectively promote the development of power batteries. At present, the service life of the power battery used in most electric vehicles is only 100000 to 200000 miles (about 160000 to 320000 kilometers). However, Doug Parks did not specify when GM will launch the battery with a service life of more than 1 million miles (about 1.61 million kilometers), but he said that GM's research team is still working on technologies such as cobalt-free batteries, solid-state electrolytes and supercharging.

Conclusion: General Electric's Determination is Very Firm

Electric has become a topic that all car companies cannot avoid. Many car companies have also realized that the trend of electric is unstoppable and have formulated detailed electric transformation measures.

Among these car companies, Volkswagen Group is the most active one. At present, it has developed a pure electric production platform and planned the production capacity for the next ten years. At present, it has built electric vehicle production plants simultaneously in China, the United States and Europe. In addition, it has also acquired a power battery production plant, which is very determined.

On the other side of the ocean, GM is also very active in the transformation of electric vehicles. GM has also set a production target for electric vehicles within five years, established a joint venture with LG Chemical in terms of power batteries, and is actively studying various battery technologies. With the continuous layout of

GM in electrification, Tesla's dominant position in the United States is bound to be challenged, and GM is bound to achieve certain results in the tide of electrification. 87