Traditional auto makers need supply chains full of batteries and the materials they’re made of if their electric-vehicles businesses are ever to catch the leader Tesla TSLA +3.11% .
U.S. auto giant General Motors GM +3.82% has big EV ambitions and unveiled another deal to strengthen its supply chain on Friday.
GM (ticker: GM) and POSCO Future M (003670.Korea), announced a new phase of their CAM joint venture. CAM is short for cathode active materials. A cathode is one side of a battery that facilitates the flow of electricity and cathodes include materials with which EV investors are familiar—such as lithium, nickel, iron, manganese, and cobalt.
Cathode materials can account for 40% of a lithium-ion battery’s cost, according to the companies. The total investment in CAM and precursor material production is expected to exceed $1 billion. The GM/POSCO joint venture will be located in North America. Most cathode materials today are processed in Asia.
“Increasing CAM production capacity…and adding [precursor material] to our joint venture is another significant step in building a more secure and sustainable North America-focused supply chain to support GM’s fast-growing EV production needs,” said Doug Parks, GM’s global head of product development, purchasing, and supply chain. “We started by establishing battery-cell production in the U.S. From there, we have been working through the entire battery supply chain.”
GM has a lot going on in the electric-vehicles supply chain. It is operating and building EV battery plants in North America with partners LG Energy Solution (373220.Korea) and Samsung SDI (006400.Korea). It has signed deals for lithium with Livent (LTHM), for nickel with Vale (VALE), and for cobalt from Australian assets with Glencore (GLEN.London). Those are just a handful of examples.
All that activity is to support GM’s goal of producing about one million EVs in North America annually by 2025. The CAM joint venture should be able to supply materials for roughly 36% of GM’s overall EV goal.
It’s a small bump. Investors are fully aware of the industry’s push up the EV supply chain. Tesla (TSLA) is building its own lithium refinery in Texas. It makes batteries and has material supply deals, too. So does Ford Motor (F), Stellantis (STLA), and just about any other auto maker looking to win EV market share.
