General Motors released its 2022 Sustainability Report, which charts the company’s progress towards an all-electric product portfolio.
The report features progress items toward large-scale EV production capacity, new partnerships to improve the sustainability of GM’s supply chain, and efforts made to secure renewable energy for the company’s U.S. facilities by 2025.
High points in the report include the opening of the first Ultium battery plant in Warren, Ohio, working with suppliers to obtain low-carbon-dioxide steel and aluminum, and a series of grants to non-profits in various sustainability efforts. GM is committed to carbon neutrality in its global productions and operations by 2040 and previously approved targets for greenhouse gas reductions. The new report details how GM is working toward these goals.
Battery production
First, GM is rapidly scaling up its production capacity with a goal of producing 1 million EVs in North America in 2025. The company opened its first Ultium Cells LLC battery manufacturing plant in Warren, Ohio in August 2022 and is planning to open additional facilities in mid-2023 in Spring Hill, Tennessee, and late in 2024 a third facility in Lansing, Michigan.
GM has invested more than $7 billion partnering with LG Energy Solution in Ultium Cells LLC. The venture aims to produce Ultium battery cells in the United States, creating an estimated 4,100 jobs in battery production.
In April, the company also announced a plan for a joint investment of more than $3 billion with Samsung SDI to build a new battery cell manufacturing plant in the U.S., targeted to begin operations in 2026. GM and Samsung SDI will jointly operate the facility, which is projected to have production lines to build nickel-rich prismatic and cylindrical cells.
Additionally, the company reports that they have secured all the battery raw materials to support the goal of 1 million units of EV capacity in North America in 2025. This includes lithium, nickel, cobalt and a full Cathode Active Material (CAM) supply. During its earnings call last July, GM announced agreements with Livent for lithium hydroxide and LG Chem for CAM.
Although the mining of various required minerals takes place all over the United States, certain key mineral deposits have been located in the desert Southwest. A company called MP Minerals and GM have announced that the mining and processing company will supply rare earth alloy flakes and neodymium-iron-boron magnets mined in California for GM’s EV production.
Sourcing battery minerals and locating facilities in the United States keeps GM on track to maintain the Federal tax credit for American-made EVs contained in 2022’s Inflation Reduction Act passed by Congress and signed into law by President Biden.
“At GM, the focus of our impact is on helping to create an all-electric future that works for everyone,” said Kristen Siemen, GM chief sustainability officer. “Beyond manufacturing EVs that are affordable and accessible, we’re working to improve our supply chain, investing in communities, and advancing clean energy solutions. It’s a big mission, and I’m proud of the progress we’ve made and our tenacity to lead the way.”
Supply Chain Improvements
GM also reported that the company is working to incorporate responsibly sourced materials in vehicles. In the last year, the company joined the First Movers Coalition for concrete, cement, steel, and aluminum, to work toward a solution and signal its support for the development of low-CO2 materials.
GM is also supporting the growth of renewable power generation through direct investments, on-site power generation, green tariffs, and power purchase agreements. In late 2022, GM finalized energy sourcing agreements to secure 100% of the energy needed to power all U.S. facilities from renewable energy by 2025, demonstrating tangible progress in reducing emissions in its business operations.
GM Energy
A new subsidiary called GM Energy was introduced last year. This is a new business unit that aims to provide a holistic ecosystem of connected energy management solutions for residential, commercial and EV customers.
“The reliability of the U.S. electrical power grid has never been more important,” said Travis Hester, vice president of GM EV Growth Operations. “GM Energy has the opportunity to help deliver sustainable energy products and services that can help mitigate the effect of power outages and provide customers with resilient and cost-effective energy management.”
GM has already lined up partners for its new initiatives. SunPower, one of the nation’s leading solar technology and energy services providers, will help GM Energy develop and offer customers a home energy system which will consist of integrated EV and battery solutions, solar panels and home energy storage.
A primary feature of the home energy system is to enable drivers to deliver power to their homes with the battery in their compatible electric vehicle, for their home’s necessities in a blackout or draw from stored energy during peak rate times.
Cutting landfill and waste
GM achieved its goal of diverting more than 90% of its total operational waste from landfills, incinerators and energy recovery facilities, three years ahead of its 2025 goal. The company has been working to eliminate landfill for more than a decade, with more than 100 sites operating trash-free since at least 2012.
With these and other initiatives, GM is charting its progress toward a greener future. This is not to say the road will be easier from here on out; the challenges and standards get more stringent every year.