GM thinks U.S. can replace China as EV battery king

The head of General Motors’ battery unit believes the United States can lead the world in electric vehicle batteries thanks to a strong local customer base and government policies that encourage local development and manufacturing of batteries.

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China has firmly established itself as a leader in electric vehicle batteries, in part because of generous government subsidies that have supported the industry’s growth over the past 15 years. Chinese manufacturers also lead the way in lithium iron phosphate batteries and control much of the core materials needed to make them. In fact, it is home to most of the world’s materials refining capacity, including cobalt, nickel sulfate, graphite and lithium hydroxide.

READ: GM could use Chinese batteries made in the U.S. by Japanese brand

However, speaking at the Battery Show in Detroit, General Motors Vice President of Batteries Kurt Kelty expressed optimism that the United States can seize global leadership in electric vehicle batteries.

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“It’s a simple and pragmatic reality that the development of any new technology benefits from proximity to customers,” he said. “Today, we have those customers. We now have customers in the United States, and we have public policy to support manufacturing units here.”

Kelty said the U.S. has the potential to grow EV battery development and manufacturing in the coming years, much like what has happened in Asia over the past two decades. General Motors will add lithium iron phosphate batteries to its North American product portfolio in the coming years, automotive news Report.

Local manufacturing of these batteries will reduce costs. In China, batteries using this chemistry can cost as little as $50 per kilowatt-hour, giving companies a competitive advantage.

“Once we have lithium iron phosphate manufacturing in the U.S. and we gain the expertise to make it, we will be able to reduce the cost of lithium iron phosphate, just like Asian companies have done in the past,” Kelty added.

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