GM has reached a partnership with lithium battery start-up SES

General Motors, March 11-General Motors announced on March 11 a partnership with a lithium-metal battery start-up to promote its battery development to achieve longer mileage for electric vehicles with smaller battery packs.

The partnership with GM is called SolidEnergy Solutions (SES), which is based in (Woburn), Woben, Massachusetts. The joint development agreement between the two sides will help GM reduce vehicle weight, a key goal for GM in the development of electric vehicles. GM says that by 2035, the cost of its Ultium battery pack will be 60% lower than the current battery pack, and the energy density will be twice as high as the current one.

GM said the two sides plan to build a production line at SES's plant and launch prototype batteries by 2023. GM invested in SES in 2015 for an undisclosed amount. The two sides also did not disclose the specific terms of the new cooperation. Other investors in SES include Chinese automakers and GM partner SAIC, South Korean battery maker SK Innovation and US applied materials company (Applied Materials).

GM said that future vehicles based on Ultium battery packs will use technology jointly developed by the company and SES, and this autumn the GMC brand will launch an electric version of the Hummer pickup, which will be the first model to use Ultium battery packs.

Kent Helfrich, executive director of GM's global electrification and battery systems, said in an interview: "this is a good opportunity for us to get more energy from smaller packaged batteries and make more room for other technologies in the car." Helfrich said the deal was not exclusive and SES could work with other carmakers.

GM unveiled the Ultium, last year and saw it as a key technology to cut battery costs and extend the mileage of electric vehicles. GM is currently building a joint venture plant in Ohio with LG Energy Solution, a subsidiary of LG Chemical, to produce Ultium batteries, with an investment of $2.3 billion. The two sides are also expected to build a second factory, which is likely to be located in Tennessee.

GM said in January that it planned to stop selling light vehicles powered by gasoline and diesel from 2035. The company said last year that it would invest $27 billion in electric and self-driving cars and plans to launch 30 electric vehicles worldwide by the end of 2025.