GM is working to make sure its new Hummer EV avoids battery faults

DETROIT – As General Motors works to fix the flaws that have caused fires in at least 13 Chevrolet Bolt EVs, the automaker is working to make sure the same issues don’t seep into its Ultium batteries from new generation and its much-awaited relaunch of an all-electric version of the Hummer this fall.

New power system is crucial for the future of the automaker as it pivots to offer exclusively electric vehicles by 2035. Batteries and the company’s entire Ultium system – platforms, engines and other components – are expected to underpin every EV for GM for the foreseeable future.

Problems with the Bolt – the company’s flagship electric vehicle – have led the automaker to recall each of the electric cars since production began in 2016. Vehicle repairs, including complete replacement of some batteries, are expected to cost money. $ 1.8 billion.

This expense – averaging around $ 13,000 per vehicle – highlights a gamble for automakers planning to use common platforms or battery cells to power massive amounts of vehicles. If there is a problem, it will be expensive.

This is one of the reasons GM officials have worked aggressively “around the clock” to resolve issues and ensure that future electric vehicles such as the GMC Hummer EV and Cadillac Lyriq – two of the early models GM to use its Ultium batteries – I don’t have the same problems. They are also working on wireless technology that will allow GM to spot potential faults earlier.

“The company is committed not only to solving the problem of LG cells and the Bolt, but also to ensuring that all future products are configured for success,” Mike Harpster, chief engineer of the company, told CNBC. electrification propulsion for GM. a deep dive into the automaker’s next Lyriq. “It’s not about creating the fault or the fault, but it’s also about the way the pack and the vehicle react to it. And on both fronts, we’re acting very aggressively.”

The automaker’s efforts extend outside of its own organization. GM Chief Financial Officer Paul Jacobson recently said GM engineers were working with LG Chem, which makes the batteries, to “clean up the manufacturing process” and implement certain “GM quality measures” at factories. LG.

GM on Monday announced fixes to the battery cell manufacturing process as well as updated monitoring software for vehicles. Both are expected to be used for future vehicles, Tim Grewe, GM’s director of electrification strategy, told reporters on Monday.

GM is suing LG, which produced the defective parts at factories in South Korea and Michigan.

The increased quality efforts come as GM builds a battery cell plant in the United States through a joint venture in Ohio with LG Chem called Ultium Cells. This is the first of several battery plants expected from GM in the coming years.

While Ultium batteries include new chemistries and production processes compared to LG production and cells, GM is learning lessons from the current production process, including warranties and monitoring, for new factories.

“There are improvements in this process that have been learned from the current process,” said Harpster, who was the Bolt EV’s chief propulsion system engineer. “It’s not just at the cell level, it’s at the module level, at the pack level. Everything we’ve done in the past we’ve done with a partner, LG. All of this learning go here to push it to the next level. “

Grewe told CNBC earlier this month that the new production was “no more vulnerable” than anything the company does today.

“Any contaminant anywhere can cause problems,” he said. “If you look at the battery factories that we have today, there are all kinds of controls looking for that.”

GM CEO Mary Barra said last month that the new factories “will apply all of General Motors’ quality processes to the manufacturing process,” signaling that the company expects better quality controls in place in the manufacturing process. new installations.

“We work every day to make sure what we do is validated and tested. When we find a problem like this, and this again, it’s two rare manufacturing issues in the same cell, we’ll fix it. “she said on Aug. 4 in an interview on CNBC’s” Squawk Box “.

Barra pointed out that the Ultium is an entirely new battery system, but battery production will always be more volatile than assembling a traditional vehicle. Batteries cannot simply be emptied and topped up later like car manufacturers can with gasoline.

“The manufacturing processes are really going to have to be strengthened,” Guidehouse Insights senior analyst Sam Abuelsamid previously told CNBC. “It’s part of the behavior of batteries. They don’t like heat and don’t like contamination. They are very sensitive.”

The Bolt EV’s “rare manufacturing flaws” are a torn anode tab and a bent separator which, when present in the same battery cell, increases the risk of fire, according to GM.

As GM continues to ensure cell manufacturing is repaired, it may be able to identify such issues sooner with Ultium-powered vehicles.

Specifically, the new battery cells will be able to communicate wirelessly, providing GM with additional 24/7 data to assess any issues. Bolts EVs, by comparison, aren’t able to perform major software updates remotely and only communicate when the vehicle is running or charging, officials said.

“Everything is updated live,” Grewe said. He added that the wireless system would likely have helped the company determine that a problem was present “a little quicker.”

What the wireless system could do faster is reset the battery software remotely to reduce the risk of fire, he said. Currently, Bolt EV owners have to either do this on their own or take it to a dealership to reset the software.

The wireless battery monitoring system, which will be standard on all Ultium vehicles, can also refocus the array of modules and sensors as needed, helping to protect battery health throughout life. of the vehicle.