GM Says 40 Miles Doable, but the ‘Business’ of Chevy Volt Battery Just Beginning

GM Says 40 Miles Doable, but the ‘Business’ of Chevy Volt Battery Just Beginning

By Bill Visnic

DETROIT — General Motors Corp. executives and engineers said Thursday they’re confident they can hit the ambitious target of 40 miles of battery-driven range for the company’s high-profile Chevrolet Volt “extended-range” electric vehicle.

What the company’s not saying is which of its competing lithium-ion battery developers — Compact Power Inc. (using cell technology developed by Korea’s LG Chemical) or Continental Automotive Systems (cells from Boston’s A123 Systems) — might prevail.

It’s possible both will win some of the lucrative work if the Volt indeed reaches production by GM’s self-imposed 2010 deadline.

One thing is certain: GM said this week the cutting-edge lithium-ion battery chemistry can deliver that controversial 40 miles of electric-only driving.

“We have generated data that say, ‘Yes, this can be done,’” said Frank Weber, global vehicle chief engineer, Chevrolet Volt and E-Flex systems. He said GM’s latest computer modeling demonstrates the lithium-ion batteries are up to the task.

GM has no fewer than five different lithium-ion developers working on batteries for various future “conventional” hybrid-electric vehicles or those, such as the Volt, that will use the E-Flex system that effectively enables more than a hybrid: an extended-range electric vehicle designed to operate primarily on battery power alone.

But LG Chem and A123 are the two cell developers vying for the big-time Volt application. And although GM has billed the situation as a competition, it’s possible both companies may win Volt — or some kind of E-Flex — business.

Insiders here tell AutoObserver if both companies achieve the performance requirements, GM might be disinclined to send either away empty-handed.

Or, one analyst predicted, GM may already have agreed to award business to both, simultaneously rewarding both companies — as well as systems integrators Compact Power and Continental — for a heap of difficult development and intellectual-property sharing.

Awarding battery contracts to both companies also would allow GM to create a supply base of more than a single company.

If there is little performance difference between the two battery formulas, another possibility is one company may be named the sole supplier for the Volt batteries, with the other being rewarded with a contract to supply a pending vehicle using the same E-Flex system. It is believed if the Volt does indeed make it to production, GM has plans for a quick follow-up with another E-Flex vehicle, likely a crossover — possibly a production interpretation of the Cadillac Provoq.

Nobody at GM will peg the potential worth of an E-Flex contract, but it is likely if the E-Flex and lithium-ion technology is proven and can be marketed in meaningful volumes, the dollar value will be considerable.•

Bill Visnic is a senior editor of Edmunds’ AutoObserver, specializing in product and technical areas.

Photos by GM
1 — Chevrolet Volt concept
2 — GM engineers are testing the latest versions of the lithium-ion battery packs, which GM's computer simulations say can propel the Chevrolet Volt 40 miles on electric power only.
3 — Cadillac Provoq

Michelle Krebs:  is Editor-in-Chief of AutoObserver.com. Follow @AutoObserver on Twitter.