GM’s electric future depends on a new battery — and this facility

Key points

• Hidden among the architectural landmarks of General Motors’ sprawling Warren Tech Center outside Detroit is a new cornerstone of the automaker’s $900 million bet on its electric future.
• The nondescript 500,000-square-foot pair of off-white boxes, which house GM’s new Battery Cell Development Center, might not look like much.
• But locked inside is the key to GM’s plan to slash the cost of its EVs by nearly 10%.
• At a time when some car companies are pulling back on EVs, GM’s new Battery Cell Development Center is part of a reboot.
• And it’s one that GM told TechCrunch will allow it to bring a new slate of lower-cost batteries to market a year faster than planned.