General Motors expanded its significant battery research and development capabilities today by opening the largest and most technologically advanced battery lab in the United States on its Technical Center campus in Warren, Michigan.

The new Global Battery Systems Lab will lead GM's global advanced battery engineering resources and expedite the introduction of electrically driven vehicles, including the Chevrolet Volt, as well as plug-in hybrid and hybrid-electric vehicles and fuel cell vehicles.

"The new global GM battery lab will benefit consumers across America by helping us advance the development of battery technology in the United States and put cleaner, more efficient vehicles on the road more quickly and affordably," said Fritz Henderson, GM president and CEO. "Our new lab improves GM's competitiveness by speeding the development of our hybrid, plug-in and extended-range electric vehicles, including the Chevrolet Volt."

The Global Battery Systems Lab spans 33,000 sq. ft. - four times larger than GM's previous Tech Center battery lab - and will be used by GM's growing team of more than 1,000 engineers working on advanced batteries and electrically driven vehicles.

Additional new benefits offered by the Global Battery Systems Lab include a thermal shaker table for battery structural integrity testing, a battery teardown area for failure analysis and competitor benchmarking, an integrated test automation system and improved Design of Experiments methodology - an information-gathering exercise that allows GM to perform more thorough battery tests more quickly.

The Global Battery Systems Lab complements GM's other battery labs in Mainz-Kastel, Germany, Honeoye Falls, N.Y., and the Warren Technical Center's Research Chemical Engineering facility. The opening of the Global Battery Systems Lab is the latest move in GM's comprehensive battery strategy, which includes ramping up "in-house" responsibility for advanced battery technology and a broad portfolio of supplier partners.