GM plans U.S. battery development as Trump's DOT attacks Ford for China ties

General Motors is working on advanced battery-cell technology that it hopes will anchor more of its electric-vehicle and energy-storage supply chain in the United States. The effort remains at an early development stage, but GM sees it as a potential answer to the heavy role China currently plays in supplying the materials used in many battery cells. The company’s objective is not limited to vehicle batteries: it also includes equipment intended for storing electricity for later use.

The Detroit automaker is examining new cell designs alongside a plan to obtain more inputs domestically. That combination could matter because battery manufacturing depends on a network of mined, processed and refined materials before a cell can be assembled. GM’s approach would seek to bring more of that network closer to its U.S. operations rather than relying on overseas sources for key parts of the process.

Kurt Kelty, GM’s vice president for batteries and sustainability, said the company is targeting a domestic supply arrangement within roughly two to three years. “We’re developing a supply chain,” Kelty said, describing a goal of having U.S.-based sourcing in place when the technology reaches the market. His comments point to an ambition rather than a completed manufacturing system, leaving the pace of technical development and supplier investment central to the plan.

China’s position in the battery sector has become a major strategic concern for automakers and policymakers. Even when batteries are built outside China, the underlying materials or their processing may still involve Chinese suppliers. For companies pursuing electric vehicles, this can expose production plans to trade tensions, shifting rules, transport disruptions and uncertainty over the availability or price of essential battery ingredients.

GM’s effort also arrives during a politically charged debate over American industrial policy and corporate links to China. The broader dispute was underscored by the Trump administration’s Department of Transportation criticism of Ford over its China connections. That backdrop raises the stakes for U.S. carmakers seeking to demonstrate that they can build future technologies with less dependence on Chinese industrial capacity.

A domestically oriented battery chain could offer benefits beyond a narrower sourcing footprint. It could support factory investment, strengthen regional supplier networks and give GM more visibility into the path materials take from processing through final assembly. For energy-storage products, local supply could be especially relevant as utilities, businesses and households look for ways to hold electricity for use when generation and demand do not align.

Still, creating a U.S.-centered system is a difficult undertaking. Developing a new battery cell is only one part of the challenge; materials must be available in sufficient volume, converted into usable forms and delivered reliably to manufacturers. A company can announce an intention to localize production, but the outcome will depend on whether technical performance, costs and supplier capacity develop on a timetable that supports commercial deployment.

GM has not presented the initiative as an immediate replacement for existing global battery relationships. Instead, Kelty’s comments set out a medium-term direction: advance next-generation cells while building a domestic source base that can support them when they are ready for customers. The key questions to watch will be which materials GM can secure in the United States, how quickly its cell work progresses and whether the proposed supply chain reaches the market as planned.

Source: CNBC Business