en.Wedoany.com Reported - General Motors has announced two new deployments in the energy storage market: a partnership with energy storage startup Peak Energy to develop sodium-ion batteries, and an expanded collaboration with battery recycler Redwood Materials. This move is seen as the automaker's biggest step yet in the energy storage sector.
On Tuesday, General Motors unveiled two new phases of its offensive in the energy storage market, the most significant being a partnership with energy storage startup Peak Energy to develop a new sodium-ion battery chemistry system, tailored specifically for grid-scale deployment. Kurt Kelty, GM's Vice President of Batteries and Sustainability, stated that the company is entering the market through energy storage systems (ESS), with performance characteristics exactly what the market demands. Outside of China, no other automaker has announced plans to build sodium-ion batteries.
General Motors did not disclose the investment amount in the energy storage project but has committed $900 million to commercialize the new battery chemistry, including a new battery development center. Sodium-ion batteries operate similarly to lithium-ion batteries but replace key materials to make them cheaper, longer-lasting, and less prone to overheating, though they require larger and heavier volumes to store the same amount of electricity.
Peak Energy has already been developing energy storage systems (ESS) using sodium-ion batteries. Due to their lower overheating risk, Peak has designed a targeted energy storage system without cooling or fire suppression systems, reducing upfront costs and maintenance expenses. Paul Menson, GM's Director of Energy Storage Commercialization, noted that the hardest part of engineering is having no components—eliminating components also eliminates problems.
General Motors plans to sell sodium-ion batteries to Peak Energy, which will integrate them into its products. The first batteries are expected to enter trial production at its Battery Cell Development Center in 2028. In a recent exclusive tour of the facility by TechCrunch, GM estimated that the center will shorten the sodium-ion battery commercialization process by about a year and reduce costs. Before sodium-ion batteries enter mass production, the automaker will sell lithium iron phosphate (LFP) batteries to LG Energy Solution for its energy storage systems (ESS). LG Energy Solution has already partnered with GM through the Ultium joint venture to produce batteries for GM's electric vehicles.
In addition to partnerships with LG Energy Solution and Peak Energy, General Motors has also expanded its collaboration with Redwood Materials. Founded by former Tesla executive J.B. Straubel, Redwood has purchased scrap from GM's battery factories and used battery packs from electric vehicles. GM has approximately 10,000 battery packs being sent to Redwood, which operates a 12 MW/63 MWh microgrid at the Crusoe data center in Sparks, Nevada, using second-life battery packs. GM stated it is purchasing a 7.2 MWh Redwood system for one of its Michigan factories, estimating savings of about $3 million over its lifespan. Cal Lankton, Redwood's Chief Commercial Officer, said GM's installation is Redwood's "first step," noting that industrial sites have vastly different usage patterns from data centers, which are more likely to reduce peak power demand and lower monthly electricity bills. Kelty added that the factory is very excited because it now has a more reliable facility, and ultimately all factories will undergo similar installations.
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