GM joins race to build batteries for AI data centers and the grid
Key takeaways
- The race to secure power for AI data centers has spilled over into some unusual places, including the automotive world.
- Battery recycler Redwood Materials kicked off the trend last year with a new energy storage division and a project that attached old EV packs to a Crusoe data center in Nevada.
- GM unveiled on Tuesday two new phases in its attack on the energy storage market.
The race to secure power for AI data centers has spilled over into some unusual places, including the automotive world.
Battery recycler Redwood Materials kicked off the trend last year with a new energy storage division and a project that attached old EV packs to a Crusoe data center in Nevada. Then, Ford said it was repurposing some of its battery manufacturing capacity to make grid-scale batteries. And now GM is announcing its own — arguably more ambitious — plans for an energy storage system (ESS).
GM unveiled on Tuesday two new phases in its attack on the energy storage market. The biggest swing by far is GM’s new partnership with energy storage startup Peak Energy. For that partnership, GM is developing an entirely new sodium-ion battery chemistry tailored for grid-scale deployments.