General Motors CEO Rick Wagoner took the stage again this morning at the 2009 North American International Auto Show in Detroit to announce the automaker’s decision to partner with South Korean firm LG Chem to produce battery cells for the upcoming Chevrolet Volt - and potentially the upcoming Cadillac Converj. Wagoner also announced the automaker’s plans to create a large battery development center, likely in Michigan.
GM chose LG Chem over A123, a Boston-based battery supplier, though the automaker says it will continue to work with A123 in the future.
Wagoner said that the automaker will add more battery engineers when it opens a 31,000 square foot battery development center in the United States. The center, which will be the largest in the U.S., is planned for Michigan, though a final decision on location has not been chosen.
The automaker will also partner with the University of Michigan to create an advanced battery lab and an engineering department curriculum designed to feed directly into the burgeoning battery-electric industry. The battery lab will be located in U of M’s Ann Arbor campus.
