The largest and most technologically advanced automotive battery lab in the US is about to get even bigger, as General Motors reveals plans to double its size.
An $8million investment will be made to enlarge the Global Battery Systems Lab on the GM Technical Centre campus by 30,000sq ft to 63,000sq ft. The cash will improve on-site testing of current and new battery cells, module and pack technologies.
The site began operations in January last year with work commencing on advanced batteries and electrically driven vehicles. More than half of the existing lab is dedicated to testing electrochemical battery cells and modules, while the remaining floor space belongs to evaluating existing battery packs.
By expanding, GM hopes to improve its capabilities in six areas: safety and abuse tolerance; build up and teardown; manufacturing engineering; charger development and integration; thermal development; and battery storage.
The Global Battery Systems Lab has already received accreditation from the American Association for Laboratory Accreditation and as an ISO certified lab it can avoid expensive retesting from unreliable results. Its systems will be integrated with GM’s global network of battery labs, including those in China and Germany.
