General Motors has announced a new partnership with the University of Michigan to establish the GM/U-M Institute of Automotive Research and Education. The Institute of Automotive Research and Education will focus on the further development of battery technology, engine systems, vehicle manufacturing and smart materials.
The Institute of Automotive Research and Education will work on several key automotive issues, but will have the ultimate goal of creating sustainable mobility. “No single company, university or government agency can act on its own to address the ever-changing global energy and environmental demands facing the automotive industry,†Tom Stephens, GM vice chairman for Global Product Development, said. “GM is leveraging the finest faculty and students at the University of Michigan and our own talented researchers and engineers to accelerate the pace of innovation and develop the knowledge and technology solutions we need to reinvent the automobile.â€
As previously announced, the IARE will include the GM/U-M Advanced Battery Coalition for Drivetrains (ABCD) which will focus mainly in the electrification of the automobile. GM is hopeful the partnership will turn Michigan into a hot bed for EV technology.
The U-M center will also have a division dedicated to engine systems. The engine systems department will work with existing engine technology to make today’s engine tech cleaner burning and more fuel efficient. One of the ultimate goals of the engine systems division is to bring GM’s homogeneous charge compression ignition (HCCI) to market.
In keeping with the institute’s green theme, there will also be divisions charged with finding more eco-friendly materials for vehicle construction and ways to produce vehicles more efficiently.
