General Motors Company (NYSE:GM) will supply batteries to Honda Motor Co Ltd (NYSE:HMC) for use in electric vehicles. The move will help both the automakers to supply electric vehicles at reduced rates after the year 2020.

The new batteries, which will be supplied under the brand EME 1.0, will be offered in a smaller size when compared to the EV Batteries currently available. The small size batteries feature quick charge, and stores more energy.

Battery packs are a vital part of the electric vehicles. They are more expensive in the range of $10,000 to $12,000. According to the latest news, GM is planning to reduce the cost of battery packs to almost half of the current price by the year 2021.

As per the collaborative accord between Honda and GM, cells and modules will be supplied by GM for use in electric vehicles of both Honda and GM.

GM will source the cells for the EME 1.0 batteries from LG Chem based in Korea. According to the sources, the company will start producing the new batteries starting 2021.

GM Decides to Reduce Use of Cobalt in New Batteries

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According to the collaborative accord, Honda and GM will develop electric vehicles jointly using hydrogen fuel cells. GM will reduce the use of cobalt used in the production of new batteries. The expensive cobalt is the main ingredient in lithium-ion cells. The price of cobalt has increased considerably in the past 2 years on the expectation of growing demand from automakers.

Nickel to Support More Energy Storage in New Batteries

GM will use more amount of nickel in the batteries to save cost and increased stored energy. The new batteries offer better performance and use lightweight components. It will be produced in Michigan based fuel cell plant with an investment of $85 million. Other makes of batteries are looking for a similar change in the chemistry.

GM is selling two EV models namely the Chevy Bolt and the Chevy Volt in the US.

GM Improves efforts to Increase Electric Vehicles in China

GM is making sketches to introduce heavily electrified vehicles in China during 2021 and 2023. It is in addition to the already committed 10 models in China by the year 2020. GM’s head of operations, Matt Tsien said the company has a clear strategy to achieve the planned rollout in China.