The Detroit News - General Motors Co.'s venture capital subsidiary, GM Ventures LLC, said today it will invest $7 million into a California-based technology firm as it seeks to reduce the high cost of lithium-ion batteries used in its electric vehicles.
The company, Envia Systems in Newark, Calif., conducts research on lithium-ion cathodes -- the material through which electricity flows. With the funding, it will further research into potentially cost-reducing technology that would allow batteries to store energy at a greater density.
GM, in a separate agreement, has bought rights to use the Envia's cathode material in its future electrified vehicles.
The batteries' high cost remains a major hurdle for automakers as they strive to convince buyers to make the switch to electric cars, and sell them at a profit.
The Chevrolet Volt, GM's first mass-market electric car, has yet to make money for the company despite its hefty, $41,000 price tag.
The automaker is trying to change that, investing heavily both inside and outside the company in battery research aimed at bringing down the cost.
"Skeptics have suggested it would probably be many years before lithium-ion batteries with significantly lower cost and higher capability are available, potentially limiting sales of electric vehicles for the foreseeable future," GM Ventures President Jon Lauckner said in a statement.
"In fact, our announcement today demonstrates that major improvements are already on the horizon," he added.
Earlier this month, GM announced it had struck a deal with Argonne National Laboratory to license battery-improving cathode material. The move, GM said, would help develop batteries that not only could extend the life of its lithium-ion batteries, but allow electric cars to travel greater distances between charges.
