Challenge Tesla's Technology! General Motors' new Chief Technology Officer says it should produce its own batteries.

Tesla and BYD have been heavily investing in electric vehicle and battery production for the past fifteen years, while the American automotive giant General Motors (GM) only started to make a push into electric vehicles in 2020. As a "latecomer" in the electric vehicle field, GM's executives have recently set their sights on battery production.

Gil Golan, the newly appointed Chief Technology Officer and Vice President of Research and Development at GM, stated that his top priority is to develop the next generation of batteries.

In 2021, GM introduced its proprietary battery platform called Ultium, which includes batteries, modules, battery packs, as well as the drive units containing electric motors and integrated electronic devices.

GM plans to build all its electric vehicles on this platform by 2025. The first batch of vehicles to be produced includes the Hummer pickup truck, Cadillac Lyriq, Silverado pickup truck, and entry-level Equinox SUV. However, the actual execution has been less than satisfactory. In the first half of this year, GM sold less than 2,800 electric vehicles based on the Ultium platform.

In July of this year, GM's CEO Mary Barra attributed the slow growth of Ultium's production capacity to supply chain disruptions and stated that GM aims to produce 400,000 electric vehicles equipped with Ultium batteries by the middle of next year.

Meanwhile, Golan recently stated that GM needs to prepare for the future beyond Ultium. He commented that Ultium is "a great project, but it's just one path in a vast space."

Golan believes that in order to attract the masses, electric vehicles must become more affordable. To achieve cheaper batteries, other technologies may be necessary. For GM, the only way to achieve this goal is to produce its own batteries.

Golan predicts that eventually all major automakers will have to become battery companies. He said:

"If you go all-in, if you believe in the future of electric vehicles, you have to control your own destiny and not rely on (external suppliers), because ultimately you will be the only one with a clear interest in cost reduction."

This goal poses a challenge for GM, as although its researchers are dedicated to developing various next-generation battery technologies, they have never actually manufactured batteries for electric vehicles. Golan admitted that batteries are a completely new field for GM. "We know nothing about dry rooms, mixing, and slurry handling... We must quickly acquire this knowledge." However, battery manufacturers with expertise in these areas are not willing to share such knowledge with GM, as they have no interest in becoming competitors' customers.

To acquire the necessary skills for GM, Golan plans to use sheer force. He is aggressively recruiting and aims to build a "dream team" for the battery business. He is actively engaging with startups to better understand promising next-generation technologies and is willing to invest if he finds something of interest. For example, last month he approved a $60 million investment in LFP battery developer Mitra Chem. Media interviews with Golan indicate that he is particularly eager to surpass Tesla. Tesla gained fame for its use of Dry Battery Electrode (DBE) production method, which has the potential to significantly reduce the production cost of batteries and electric vehicles.

Tesla has not fully mastered the DBE manufacturing technology, and Golan expects that Tesla will truly grasp this technology and save costs. Therefore, he is searching for the next generation of technology after DBE, which he refers to as "a technology that surpasses the coating of Tesla's (DBE)". The media speculates that he may have some ideas about this, but he did not reveal them during the interview.

Batteries are not the only consideration for Golan. He is researching almost all automotive-related technologies to "ensure that General Motors is not caught off guard by any major events."

Media comments suggest that General Motors seems prepared to venture into any business, regardless of how far it is from their core competitiveness in the automotive industry. This is because Golan has listed a series of potential targets: deep-sea mining, deep space technology, nuclear fusion, and biotechnology.

These targets imply that if someone develops a biometric sensor that can disrupt the automotive industry, General Motors may acquire this invention. Golan said, "We want to be the disruptor, not the one being disrupted."