Kurt Kelty, GM’s vice president of batteries and sustainability, spoke June 9, 2026, at the automaker’s Empower event announcing the development of sodium-ion batteries for energy storage systems.
Provided by: GM
Detroit — general motors is in the early stages of developing next-generation battery cells that the company believes can reduce U.S. dependence on China while increasing materials sourced domestically.
“We’re developing a supply chain that will be distributed domestically in two to three years,” Kurt Kelty, GM’s vice president of batteries and sustainability, told CNBC in an exclusive interview. “That’s what we’re aiming for. When we go to market, we can source it domestically.”
Kelty was primarily referring to battery cells that automakers envision for use in energy storage systems (ESS), stationary equipment for homes and businesses, including data centers. However, a spokesperson reaffirmed to CNBC that the company plans to prioritize domestic production of battery cells for future all-electric vehicles as well.
Kelty’s comments come just days before GM’s crosstown rival GM. ford motor He criticized the Trump administration’s criticism of its relationship with Chinese companies, including domestic battery cell production.
For the ESS, GM partnered with Denver-based startup Peak Energy to develop the sodium-ion battery cell. The idea is to reduce the need for materials that China has a monopoly on, such as ferrous sulfate, a byproduct of lithium and titanium production, and instead use domestically produced batteries that utilize materials more prevalent in the United States, such as sodium obtained from soda ash.
GM is working on a variety of battery chemistries for various applications in EVs as well as ESSs. Just like baking, each ingredient and amount put into the battery cell determines the outcome of the product. For battery cells, that can mean a difference in performance, cost, and stability.
GM plans to begin commercial production of sodium-ion battery cells at Peak around 2029. In the meantime, the company is producing other chemicals for ESS and EVs using an undisclosed amount of materials from China.
The energy of General Motors will be on display at the New York International Auto Show on April 16, 2025.
Daniel DeVries | CNBC
Currently, most battery cells rely on raw materials from China. According to a report by the International Energy Agency, the country produces about 85% of the world’s positive electrode active material and more than 90% of the negative electrode active material in EV batteries, and controls 80% of battery production.
For example, China primarily controls the procurement and production of lithium iron phosphate (LFP) batteries through its supply chain. GM currently manufactures LFP cells for the ESS with its U.S. partner LG Energy Solutions, while Ford has a technology license from China’s CATL for LFP battery cells for its EV and ESS plans.
“This is a really good story because (the United States) has the resources to be able to keep it completely domestic,” Kelty said. “It will take time to build this industry, but the potential for sodium ions is much greater than LFP.”
At a basic level, sodium-ion batteries work much like lithium-ion batteries, but GM says they have the potential to perform over a wider temperature range and for more cycles.
Provided by: GM
The Trump administration has placed particular emphasis on building the U.S. battery supply chain and reducing dependence on China.
And Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy expressed “deep concerns” earlier this week about Ford’s relationship with China, specifically citing the CATL license. This is despite the fact that Ford is the top automobile manufacturer in the United States.
“They’re on a different path,” Kelty said a few days ago of Ford.
“We think there’s more value in developing this all domestically, leveraging the domestic supply chain, and developing technology that’s actually better than the existing technology,” said Kelty, a former battery executive at the U.S. EV leader. tesla.
“Leapfrog” Chinese technology?
Sam Abuelsamid, a battery expert and vice president of market research at Telemetry, noted that it will likely take years to expand the battery supply chain domestically.
At the same time, China continues to develop and produce new types of chemicals containing sodium ions.
“There is no reason why LFP materials cannot also be produced here,” Abuelsamid said. “There are ways to do it, but using sodium ions is even cheaper and easier.”
Kelty said multiple times that GM wants to “leapfrog” China’s battery technology, noting that it would be difficult to compete directly with China’s supply chain or imitate what the Chinese market is already established.
“What’s better is to take the leap and come up with another technology that’s actually better than what we can source here,” Kelty said.
Kelty said he believes sodium ions are the best solution for ESS. Its chemistry and temperature tolerance allow the cell to function without active cooling, a major source of cost and complexity associated with ESS. This improvement means lowering the cost of ownership of energy storage, he said.
Warren Battery Cell Innovation Center at General Motors’ global technology and design campus outside Detroit.
Photo by Steve Fecht of General Motors
The Detroit automaker is spending $900 million to build a new battery lab facility at its Global Tech Campus outside Detroit. This will include a more than 500,000 square foot facility for pre-production cell manufacturing, which is expected to begin operations later this year.
Still, that amount is small compared to what would be needed to significantly loosen China’s grip on the industry.
“We are intentionally on the path to deploying U.S.-developed technology,” Kelty said. “Batteries are very important to many different sectors of the economy here.”
— CNBC’s Robert Ferris contributed to this report.
