GM simulated 300,000 EV battery designs — using 34,000 years of computer time — before building a single cell. Now comes the physical part
General Motors says it simulated more than 300,000 designs for its next EV battery before building a single physical cell. The run took 300 million CPU hours, or one computer running around the clock for 34,000 years, by GM’s math.
TL;DR
- GM simulated more than 300,000 EV battery designs before building a physical cell, using 300 million CPU hours.
- The company aims to halve the traditional four-to-five-year vehicle development process to about two years.
- GM's self-driving software logs over 3 billion simulated miles daily, far exceeding real-world testing.
- New EV batteries will use lithium manganese-rich (LMR) chemistry, offering higher energy density at comparable costs to LFP.
- The fourth-generation EV platform promises improved range, aerodynamics, weight, and component efficiency.
- A new central computer with significantly increased processing power will debut in 2028, enabling autonomous highway driving for both EVs and gas-powered vehicles.
- An OnStar AI assistant and a unified OnStar app are slated for release starting in 2027.
- GM is investing over $16 billion in U.S. R&D and manufacturing this year.