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That cultural shift helped GM move forward with a battery technology it had spent more than a decade researching, according to a Fortune report. General Motors is challenging China’s dominance in EV batteries. Alongside developing a different battery chemistry for electric trucks and large SUVs, the automaker is encouraging engineers to question senior leaders, acknowledge uncertainty and turn down work that distracts from their priorities.
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Battery engineer Andy Oury said the approach helped open up the debate over lithium manganese-rich batteries, or LMR, which GM plans to produce commercially with LG Energy Solution in 2028. The company’s $900 million investment in battery development facilities in Warren, Michigan, is intended to help engineers develop cells and work out how to manufacture them.
GM has encouraged employees to use this phrase when opening a disagreement with their seniors, Kurt Kelty, its vice president of battery and sustainability, told Fortune. “I want to grant myself permission to speak fearlessly. Much of the world’s inexpensive EV battery supply uses lithium iron phosphate, or LFP, a chemistry dominated by China. GM’s LMR cells replace much of the nickel and cobalt with cheaper, more plentiful manganese and additional lithium.
Previously, GM relied on partners to turn its cell designs into physical batteries.