By Kurt Kelty, GM vice president of battery propulsion and sustainability
By Kurt Kelty, GM vice president of battery propulsion and sustainability
This week, I was honored to accept the Battery Innovation of the Year award on behalf of General Motors. This award, given at the 15th annual Battery Show North America in Detroit, recognizes groundbreaking advancement in battery technology. GM and LG Energy Solution were named this year’s winner in recognition of our pioneering work on lithium-manganese-rich battery cells, or LMR.
I’ve been in the battery business for more than 30 years. It’s remarkable to see how far we’ve come. What’s even more important, though, is the opportunity to innovate, to advance our technology and our industry into the next era.
At General Motors, we’re building state-of-the-art facilities, deep technical expertise, and world-class technology. GM’s vehicles aren’t just competitive in the EV landscape; they’re helping lead the way. We have some of the fastest-charging, longest-range EV trucks in the market – the 2026 Chevrolet Silverado EV Max Range Work Truck delivers an EPA-estimated 493 miles of range on a full charge1 – and the Chevy Equinox EV, the most affordable EV on the U.S. market with more than 315 miles of driving range2. We’re expanding our leadership in affordable EVs with the return of the Chevy Bolt in 2027, and in the luxury EV market, Cadillac was the number one brand by sales in Q3 of this year. GM is now number two in EV market share, doubling since last year, and nearly twice as big as our nearest competitor. Q3 was our best quarter ever for EV sales.
What’s Next
The global EV market is growing, and foreign countries and companies are investing heavily in this space. At the same time, the U.S. policy and regulatory environment is shifting. Amid all this change, GM remains focused on our North Star: Building a profitable EV future.
To get there, my team and I spend every day focused on three clear goals: Driving down battery costs, improving battery performance, and building an independent battery supply chain rooted in North America. These aren’t just technical goals – they’re strategic imperatives to position GM to lead in innovation, resilience, and competitiveness.
Innovation in Michigan
We’re building an electrification powerhouse at GM. We’ve got world-class R&D facilities and some of the best engineers in the business, all focused on our zero-emission vision.
It starts in Warren, Michigan, where we research, test, and prototype the future of battery technology. Right down the road, at our Wallace Battery Cell Innovation Center, we’re prototyping the next generation of battery cell and pushing the boundaries of energy density, performance, and manufacturability. Next door to Wallace, we’re building our new Battery Cell Development Center, where we’ll refine and validate new cell concepts, enabling our manufacturing partners to scale up production faster and deliver high-quality cells right here in the U.S.
Beyond our labs and prototyping facilities, GM has one of the most advanced computational and virtual engineering capabilities in the industry. We can model changes in battery chemistry and near-instantly understand the impact on safety, performance, and cost. What used to take months to validate, we can now accomplish in days. These AI tools allow us to accelerate material validation, confirm battery performance, and fast-track the development of a U.S.-based supplier network. All of this work is happening right here in our Michigan labs, where digital meets physical to drive real-world innovation.
Next-generation chemistry
Battery cell chemistry is a critical aspect of battery innovation, and GM is helping lead here, too. We’re adopting flexible chemistries to strike the right balance of range, performance, and affordability. That’s why I’m incredibly excited about our upcoming commercialization of LMR in partnership with LG Energy Solutions.
LMR is a game-changing chemistry, unlocking premium range and performance at a more affordable cost. We’ve been working on LMR for over a decade, and we aim to be the first automaker to deploy it in 2028. It’s a perfect example of how our battery strategy is coming to life: Lowering costs, improving performance, and localizing our supply chain. This isn’t just an incremental improvement – it’s the kind of chemistry innovation that makes electrification more accessible.
At GM, we launched our EV platform with flexibility and scale in mind. We use a common cell and module architecture across more than a dozen EVs, allowing us to achieve economies of scale that drive down battery costs. With high-nickel chemistries providing maximum performance and long-distance driving, LFP delivering affordability and durability at the entry-level, and LMR offering premium performance at a low cost, we can choose the right chemistry for the right vehicle, building an EV portfolio that meets the needs of every customer.
Caption: An employee holds a full-size prototype LMR battery cell at the General Motors Wallace Battery Cell Innovation Center in Warren, Michigan. Photo by Steve Fecht for General Motors.
Batteries beyond EVs
Batteries can do incredible things far beyond EVs. GM battery packs help power the largest second-life battery development in the world, a microgrid built by Redwood Materials in Sparks, Nevada, supporting the AI infrastructure company Crusoe. And our EVs can help support the energy grid in real time. In California, we’re working with utilities like PG&E to pilot vehicle-to-grid technology, where energy stored in EV batteries can be sent to the grid during peak demand, reducing grid stress and stabilizing the system with distributed energy.
Competing globally in EVs means building more than just great vehicles. We need to build the industry infrastructure – securing the materials, technologies, and manufacturing capacity behind the battery systems that power every one of our EVs. That’s why we’re moving quickly to localize our battery supply chain, establishing U.S.-based manufacturing for battery cells. And we’re working to bring production of critical minerals like lithium, manganese, nickel and graphite, closer to home. By 2028, we aim to increase the North American content of our battery supply chain by a factor of eight.
In my career, I’ve learned that battery innovation rarely comes down to a single breakthrough. Rather, it’s the result of steady, deliberate progress across every aspect of the value chain. This week’s recognition of our decade-long work on LMR exemplifies this dynamic. By advancing our battery technology, driving innovation, and onshoring our supply chain, we’re building a stronger, more resilient U.S. battery industry.
Kurt Kelty is VP of battery, propulsion and sustainability at General Motors. Questions or comments: news@gm.com.
1On a full charge. EPA-estimated. Actual range may vary based on several factors, including ambient temperature, terrain, battery age and condition, loading, and how you use and maintain your vehicle.
2Based on comparison of MSRP of the 2025 Chevrolet Equinox EV LT with that of competing EVs. EPA estimated 319 miles on a full charge with FWD. Actual range may vary based on several factors, including ambient temperature, terrain, battery age and condition, loading and how you use and maintain your vehicle.
By Kurt Kelty, GM vice president of battery propulsion and sustainability
This week, I was honored to accept the Battery Innovation of the Year award on behalf of General Motors. This award, given at the 15th annual Battery Show North America in Detroit, recognizes groundbreaking advancement in battery technology. GM and LG Energy Solution were named this year’s winner in recognition of our pioneering work on lithium-manganese-rich battery cells, or LMR.
I’ve been in the battery business for more than 30 years. It’s remarkable to see how far we’ve come. What’s even more important, though, is the opportunity to innovate, to advance our technology and our industry into the next era.
At General Motors, we’re building state-of-the-art facilities, deep technical expertise, and world-class technology. GM’s vehicles aren’t just competitive in the EV landscape; they’re helping lead the way. We have some of the fastest-charging, longest-range EV trucks in the market – the 2026 Chevrolet Silverado EV Max Range Work Truck delivers an EPA-estimated 493 miles of range on a full charge1 – and the Chevy Equinox EV, the most affordable EV on the U.S. market with more than 315 miles of driving range2. We’re expanding our leadership in affordable EVs with the return of the Chevy Bolt in 2027, and in the luxury EV market, Cadillac was the number one brand by sales in Q3 of this year. GM is now number two in EV market share, doubling since last year, and nearly twice as big as our nearest competitor. Q3 was our best quarter ever for EV sales.
What’s Next
The global EV market is growing, and foreign countries and companies are investing heavily in this space. At the same time, the U.S. policy and regulatory environment is shifting. Amid all this change, GM remains focused on our North Star: Building a profitable EV future.
To get there, my team and I spend every day focused on three clear goals: Driving down battery costs, improving battery performance, and building an independent battery supply chain rooted in North America. These aren’t just technical goals – they’re strategic imperatives to position GM to lead in innovation, resilience, and competitiveness.
Innovation in Michigan
We’re building an electrification powerhouse at GM. We’ve got world-class R&D facilities and some of the best engineers in the business, all focused on our zero-emission vision.
It starts in Warren, Michigan, where we research, test, and prototype the future of battery technology. Right down the road, at our Wallace Battery Cell Innovation Center, we’re prototyping the next generation of battery cell and pushing the boundaries of energy density, performance, and manufacturability. Next door to Wallace, we’re building our new Battery Cell Development Center, where we’ll refine and validate new cell concepts, enabling our manufacturing partners to scale up production faster and deliver high-quality cells right here in the U.S.
Beyond our labs and prototyping facilities, GM has one of the most advanced computational and virtual engineering capabilities in the industry. We can model changes in battery chemistry and near-instantly understand the impact on safety, performance, and cost. What used to take months to validate, we can now accomplish in days. These AI tools allow us to accelerate material validation, confirm battery performance, and fast-track the development of a U.S.-based supplier network. All of this work is happening right here in our Michigan labs, where digital meets physical to drive real-world innovation.
Next-generation chemistry
Battery cell chemistry is a critical aspect of battery innovation, and GM is helping lead here, too. We’re adopting flexible chemistries to strike the right balance of range, performance, and affordability. That’s why I’m incredibly excited about our upcoming commercialization of LMR in partnership with LG Energy Solutions.
LMR is a game-changing chemistry, unlocking premium range and performance at a more affordable cost. We’ve been working on LMR for over a decade, and we aim to be the first automaker to deploy it in 2028. It’s a perfect example of how our battery strategy is coming to life: Lowering costs, improving performance, and localizing our supply chain. This isn’t just an incremental improvement – it’s the kind of chemistry innovation that makes electrification more accessible.
At GM, we launched our EV platform with flexibility and scale in mind. We use a common cell and module architecture across more than a dozen EVs, allowing us to achieve economies of scale that drive down battery costs. With high-nickel chemistries providing maximum performance and long-distance driving, LFP delivering affordability and durability at the entry-level, and LMR offering premium performance at a low cost, we can choose the right chemistry for the right vehicle, building an EV portfolio that meets the needs of every customer.
Batteries beyond EVs
Batteries can do incredible things far beyond EVs. GM battery packs help power the largest second-life battery development in the world, a microgrid built by Redwood Materials in Sparks, Nevada, supporting the AI infrastructure company Crusoe. And our EVs can help support the energy grid in real time. In California, we’re working with utilities like PG&E to pilot vehicle-to-grid technology, where energy stored in EV batteries can be sent to the grid during peak demand, reducing grid stress and stabilizing the system with distributed energy.
Competing globally in EVs means building more than just great vehicles. We need to build the industry infrastructure – securing the materials, technologies, and manufacturing capacity behind the battery systems that power every one of our EVs. That’s why we’re moving quickly to localize our battery supply chain, establishing U.S.-based manufacturing for battery cells. And we’re working to bring production of critical minerals like lithium, manganese, nickel and graphite, closer to home. By 2028, we aim to increase the North American content of our battery supply chain by a factor of eight.
In my career, I’ve learned that battery innovation rarely comes down to a single breakthrough. Rather, it’s the result of steady, deliberate progress across every aspect of the value chain. This week’s recognition of our decade-long work on LMR exemplifies this dynamic. By advancing our battery technology, driving innovation, and onshoring our supply chain, we’re building a stronger, more resilient U.S. battery industry.
Kurt Kelty is VP of battery, propulsion, and sustainability at General Motors. Questions or comments: news@gm.com.
1On a full charge. EPA-estimated. Actual range may vary based on several factors, including ambient temperature, terrain, battery age and condition, loading, and how you use and maintain your vehicle.
2Based on comparison of MSRP of the 2025 Chevrolet Equinox EV LT with that of competing EVs. EPA estimated 319 miles on a full charge with FWD. Actual range may vary based on several factors, including ambient temperature, terrain, battery age and condition, loading and how you use and maintain your vehicle.