GM Awards Contracts for E-Flex System Lithium-ion Batteries

June 21, 2007 // Published as a news service by IHS

General Motors Corp. selected Compact Power Inc. and Continental Automotive Systems to provide advanced development of lithium-ion batteries for both range-extender electric and fuel cell variants of the E-Flex architecture.

The E-Flex system, first shown as the plug-in battery electric-propulsion system for the Chevrolet Volt concept vehicle, is part of the GM strategy to diversify transportation away from petroleum.

The architecture, according to the automaker, allows a vehicle to be configured to operate on various sources of electricity.

A plug-in fuel cell variant of the E-Flex system was shown at the Shanghai Auto Show in April.

GM cited specific energy, power, mass and durability requirements for the battery as criteria in its selection of the two suppliers. These requirements included using half the energy and power of traditional batteries, while integrating and connecting to the vehicle in a similar way.

GM said it continues to assess other solutions to quickly bring lithium-ion batteries to production.

"This technology is developing rapidly," said Denise Gray, GM director of hybrid energy storage devices. "These contracts are an opportunity to deeply understand the differing battery technologies before making a production decision."

GM Cites Green Vehicle Credentials
GM's lineup of hybrid-electric models in production include:

• The GM diesel hybrid electric system for large city buses.
• The Saturn Vue and Saturn Aura Green Line hybrid models.
• Due this fall, models of the Chevrolet Tahoe and GMC Yukon SUVs with the 2-Mode hybrid system, providing a more than 25% improvement in fuel economy over existing models, according to GM.
• Due next year, a front-wheel-drive 2-Mode hybrid Saturn Vue Green Line, with plans to make a plug-in version of the Vue with the potential to achieve double the fuel efficiency of any current GM SUV, said GM.

In May, GM completed a 300-mile drive of the Chevrolet Sequel, touted as the longest fuel-cell vehicle demonstration drive to date. GM is also a producer of E-85 capable biofuel vehicles, with more than two million on the road.

Additionally, GM said it provides more vehicles that achieve 30 mpg highway than any other manufacturer in the U.S. market. GM is a member of the U.S. Climate Action Partnership (USCAP), a group of global companies and non-governmental organizations formed to support an economy-wide, market-driven approach to reducing carbon emissions.

Source: General Motors Corp.