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Kurt Kelty

VP, Battery Cell and Pack at GM

Kurt Kelty is a globally recognized battery expert who joined General Motors (GM) as Vice President of Batteries in February 2024.13 He brings over 30 years of experience in battery technology and electric vehicle (EV) development to this newly created role at GM.13

Kelty's career highlights include:

  1. Leading Tesla's battery development team for 11 years, where he was instrumental in creating Tesla's first Gigafactory.13
  2. Working at Panasonic for 15 years, where he advanced lithium-ion battery technology for portable applications.13
  3. Serving as Vice President of Commercialization at Sila Nanotechnologies, focusing on silicon anode material for high-energy-density EV batteries.12

At GM, Kelty is responsible for the company's battery cell strategy and end-to-end approach, including raw materials usage, research, technology development, commercialization, and end-of-life opportunities.1 His expertise is expected to help GM achieve its electrification goals and position the company as a leader in EV technology.1

Kelty holds a bachelor's degree in biology from Swarthmore College and an MSc from Stanford University's Graduate School of Business.3 He is also the author of 16 patents in the U.S. and Japan.3

Highlights

Aug 27 · linkedin

GM’s next step in battery manufacturing      As we navigate this constantly changing world, a simple truth remains; relationships matter. Battery cell manufacturing is one of the most important facets of our business, and the power of our relationships is driving us forward.       Here’s the latest example: Today I joined Yoon-ho Choi, President & CEO, Samsung SDI, along with Zin Park, Samsung SDI’s executive vice president automotive, to finalize the battery joint venture we announced in 2023. This agreement will bring highly skilled, high-tech jobs to Indiana, supporting our plan to build a resilient EV supply chain in North America.      This new $3.5 billion plant will have an initial capacity of 27 GWh, with capability to expand up to 36 GWh, building prismatic cells, which will be added to our battery technology portfolio, helping us to continue to increase performance and lower costs in the future.       The Samsung SDI joint venture paves the way for our next-generation EVs to provide customers with the latest battery technology, improving EV performance, and the ownership experience.  Our new venture with SDI supplements our successful Ultium Cells JV with LG Energy Solution.       Ultium Cells has already created thousands of jobs in America thanks to our battery cell plants in Ohio and Tennessee, which are powering our latest EVs, including the Cadillac LYRIQ and CELESTIQ, the Chevrolet Blazer, Equinox and Silverado EVs, as well as the GMC Hummer pickup and SUV. These plants will also power our upcoming EVs, including the Cadillac Escalade iQ, GMC Sierra EV and Cadillac OPTIQ.      The quality and productivity of the two Ultium Cells plants operating today is superb, with millions of American made battery cells being shipped to our North American EV assembly plants.      Together with LGES and Samsung SDI, we’re creating a more North American focused technology and manufacturing ecosystem for EVs. That’s crucial in so many ways, including making EVs better and more affordable for our customers.       I’m so proud of what we’ve built to date with LGES in Ultium Cells and I’m excited to continue building up local manufacturing with Samsung.

Oct 15 · linkedin

Thanks Michael Dunne for having me on the Winning In Asia podcast - I had a great time talking about the breakthroughs in EV batteries, the work we’re doing at Sila Nanotechnologies Inc. and what’s to come for the industry. Listen to our full conversation here:

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Kurt Kelty
Kurt Kelty, photo 1
Kurt Kelty, photo 2
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Location

Palo Alto, California, United States