General Motors announced a new joint venture with SolidEnergy Systems, a spinoff of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology that is focused on improving the energy density in lithium-ion batteries. The two companies plan on building a test facility in Woburn, Massachusetts, for a high-capacity preproduction battery by 2023.
The partnership was announced Thursday by GM president Mark Reuss at a Washington Post Live virtual conference. Prior to the announcement, The Verge spoke with Kent Helfrich, executive director of GM’s global electrification and battery systems, about what the joint venture will mean for the automaker’s plans to electrify its entire fleet of vehicles by 2035.