General Motors has hired Battery expert and former Tesla executive Kurt Kelty will be the automaker's new vice president of batteries, a completely new role for the company. His first day will be February 19.
Kelty will join GM at a time when the company has fought to increase production of battery packs for its new Ultium platform, which is supposed to power its next-generation electric vehicles.
“The foundation GM has established, along with Kurt’s exceptional battery expertise in leading battery chemistry development, establishing partnerships, developing supply chains and partnering closely with teams that have developed leading battery systems, will help us achieve our goals.” electrification goals and position GM as a leader. in electric vehicle technology,” GM President Mark Reuss said in a statement.
Kelty spent more than a decade as head of Tesla's battery team. He was there during the launch of Tesla's first four cars: the Roadster, Model S, Model X and Model 3. He also worked at Panasonic, Tesla's partner in cell development at the Nevada Gigafactory.
Most recently, he was vice president of marketing at Sila Nanotechnologies, a company founded by Gene Berdichevsky, an early Tesla employee, that has been developing a silicon-based anode that can dramatically increase the energy density of lithium-ion batteries. lithium.
