GM snaps up a piece of innovative battery manufacturer Sakti3

GM hasn’t been shy in their wish to become a dominant force when it comes to hybrid and plug-in cars. Besides showing off the Volt, they’ve created financial relationships with companies like Bright Automotive that develop electric vans. Now GM’s investment arm has sunk $3.2m in Sakti3, a Michigan company that’s developing sold-state lithium-ion batteries that will extend the range of electric cars.

A key problem in the electric car market is the sheer cost of rechargeable batteries. They’re expensive to manufacture and often don’t get the range that many consumers need. While they are still in development, Sakti3’s solid state batteries may literally give consumers more bang for their buck. They are smaller, cheaper, and hold more energy than liquid based batteries used in existing EVs.

While this move may look similar to the deal between Toyota and Tesla, Sakti3’s CEO Ann Marie Sastry already had a relationship with GM. The company was born from the engineering program at the University of Michigan where Sastry is a professor and had many GM engineers enroll in her masters program. She’s also the co-director of a development center to help GM make next generation batteries called ABCD, or the Advanced Battery Coalition for Drivetrains. ABCD’s other co-director is Micky Bly who is GM’s “Executive Director, Electrical Systems, Hybrids, Electric Vehicles and Batteries.”

GM isn’t the only company that’s interested in Sakti3’s solid state batteries. Itochu Technology Ventures aims to help the company navigate the booming markets in Asia with an additional $1m. Itochu already has an existing relationship with Ener1, a partial owner of ThInk.

So far, neither GM or Sakti3 have revealed how far along the prototype batteries are or what cars may be tested with the technology. The only clue came from Sastry who said that the investments “bring us not only capital, but partnerships that will speed our commercialization efforts.”

With the investment, GM has not only backed new technology but also Michigan’s economy. If Sakti3’s batteries take off, technical as well as manufacturing based jobs are sure to follow. Congressman Mark Schauer (D-MI) said,"Turning Michigan around means supporting our innovators, our scientists, our entrepreneurs. Sakti3 is ready to build advanced batteries to power civilian and military vehicles and communications systems, and our workers here in Michigan are ready to perform and excel in the 21st century technology economy."