Volt battery pack factory opens in Detroit

GENERAL Motors this week took another step towards production of its plug-in hybrid Chevrolet Volt when it opened its lithium-ion battery pack assembly plant in Michigan on the eve of the Detroit motor show.

Although GM claimed to be the first major car company in the US to launch into such a venture, the actual battery cells – 200 per unit – are shipped in from Korean company LG Chem’s Compact Power Inc subsidiary in Troy, Michigan, for packaging, first into modules and then sealed packs at the refurbished Brownstown plant of GM’s new off-shoot, GM Subsystems Manufacturing LLC.

The T-shaped battery packs that sit under the transmission tunnel and rear seat of the Volt are set to flow in small numbers to GM’s technical centre at Warren for on-going testing before initial production batches come off the line for pre-production test vehicles in March.

Full production of Volt at the refurbished Detroit-Hamtramck plant is expected to start in the fourth quarter as a 2011 model.

The so-called “ranger-extender” Volt, which made its debut in concept form at the Detroit show in 2007, is expected to go on sale in Australia under Holden badges sometime in 2012.

Left: Chevrolet Volt. Below: Volt battery assembly.

GM has spent about $US700 million ($A763m) on a total of eight facilities in Michigan as it ramps up for Volt production, with about half of that going towards the main assembly plant at Detroit-Hamtramck.

More than $40 million ($A43m) was spent on the once-dormant Brownstown facility, fitting it out over five months with specialist equipment to assemble and test the battery packs.

GM says three primary assembly areas have been completed: battery module pre-assembly, final assembly and the battery pack main line.

It says the Volt’s battery pack is made up of battery cells that are assembled in modules by automated production equipment. Multiple modules are linked together into battery packs on the main production line, where they are also tested.

The Volt batteries can be charged from a powerpoint, holding sufficient power to drive the Volt up to 60km. When the batteries are depleted, a 1.4-litre petrol engine kicks in, generating power on board to extend the range up to about 500km before the car needs to be refueled or recharged.

GM chairman and CEO Ed Whitacre said the development of electric vehicles such as the Chevy Volt was creating entire new sectors in the auto industry – “an ‘ecosystem’ of battery developers and recyclers, builders of home and commercial charging stations, electric motor suppliers and much more”.

“These companies and universities are creating new jobs in Michigan and across the US – green jobs – and they’re doing it by developing new technology, establishing new manufacturing capability, and strengthening America's long-term competitiveness,” he said.