Next-Gen GM Ultium Battery Details Revealed via Cadillac Lyriq
Future GM Ultium powered models will reap the benefits of a collaboration ripe with innovation.
General Motors revealed the Cadillac Lyriq all-electric crossover some time ago, but the new model also has plenty of clues regarding the automaker’s next-gen Ultium batteries, which will wind up powering a vast array of future EVs. This technology obviously holds the key to GM’s future, one that will eventually consist of mostly all-electric vehicles, and at some point in the future, likely what amounts to a 100 percent EV lineup. Thus, it’s worth taking a closer look at the next-generation GM Ultium battery design present in the forthcoming Lyriq.
The next-generation GM Ultium battery is produced via a joint venture with LG Chem at the automaker’s former Lordstown, Ohio assembly plant. These batteries utilize flat pouch-style cells, and in the case of the Lyriq, will offer 100 kWh of capacity. Thanks to its NCMA (nickel-cobalt-manganese-aluminum) chemistry, the Ultium battery can function with 70 percent less lithium – a raw material that’s mired in controversy over its environmentally unfriendly mining methods and ethical sourcing concerns – than the battery present in the Bolt EV.
The Ultium’s flat-pouch cells also feature built-in modules that help reduce complexity considerably, with 90 percent less wiring than a traditional battery pack. This also helps reduce costs, a critical component of making EVs more viable for a skeptical public. This is key as both GM and LG Chem invest a total of $2.3 billion in the Lordstown plant, with a goal of churning out 30 gigawatt-hours of battery capacity per year, which is enough to build 300,000 EVs with a 100 kWh pack.
The other benefit of the GM Ultium battery is its flexibility – the automaker specifically designed this unit to be modular, which allows it to change around a few parts and use the same pack in a number of different models. Each module contains two dozen Ultium cells each, which can be wired in two different ways depending on the application.
“General Motors brings 100 years of manufacturing leadership and supply chain understanding to the forefront,” said Ken Morris, GM’s vice president of autonomous and electric vehicle programs. “LG Chem brings the chemical know-how and the battery chemistry background. We’re working together and we’re helping each other improve. With this partnership, we’ve actually built a battery plant, or are in the process of building a battery plant in Lordstown, Ohio. That’s going to allow us to make the manufacturing side of it as lean and efficient as possible.”
Photos: General Motors
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