Kurt Kelty, GM’s vice president of battery and sustainability, speaks during the automaker’s “Empower” event on June 9, 2026, where it announced the development of sodium-ion batteries for energy storage systems.

Courtesy of GM

DETROIT – General Motors is in the early stages of developing next-generation battery cells that the company believes can reduce U.S. dependence on China while increasing sourcing of domestically sourced materials.

“We’re developing a supply chain that will be domestic in two or three years,” Kurt Kelty, GM vice president of battery and sustainability, told CNBC in an exclusive interview. “That’s what we’re aiming for – when we come to market we have a domestic source for it.”

Kelty was primarily referring to battery cells that the automaker expects to use in energy storage systems (ESS), which are stationary devices for homes and businesses, including data centers. However, the company plans to also prioritize domestic battery cell production for its future all-electric vehicles, a spokesperson confirmed to CNBC.

Kelty’s comments came days before GM’s crosstown rival Ford engine The Trump administration criticized its ties to Chinese companies, including in domestic battery cell production.

For ESS, GM worked with Denver-based startup Peak Energy to develop sodium-ion battery cells. The idea is to reduce the need for materials that are prevalent in China — such as lithium and ferrous sulfate, a byproduct of titanium production — and instead use domestic batteries that use materials more common in the U.S., such as sodium from soda ash.

GM is working on different battery chemistries for different applications of ESS and its electric vehicles. Similar to baking, each ingredient and the amount put into a battery cell can affect the outcome of the product. For battery cells, this can mean differences in performance, cost and stability.

GM expects to begin commercial production of sodium-ion battery cells at peak around 2029. Meanwhile, the company produces other chemicals for ESS and electric vehicles that use unknown amounts of materials from China.

The energy of General Motors is on display at the New York International Auto Show on April 16, 2025.

Danielle DeVries | CNBC

Most battery cells currently rely on raw materials from China. The International Energy Agency reports that the country produces about 85% of the world’s active cathode material for electric vehicle batteries and more than 90% of the active anode material, resulting in 80% control of battery production.

For example, China largely controls the sourcing and production of lithium iron phosphate (LFP) batteries through its supply chains. GM is currently manufacturing LFP cells with its partner LG Energy Solution in the US for ESS, while Ford has licensed technology from China’s CATL for LFP battery cells for its electric vehicles and ESS plans.

“It’s a really good story because you have the resources [in the U.S.] “It will take time to build this industry, but the potential for sodium ions is simply much greater than for LFP.”

Basically, a sodium-ion battery works similarly to a lithium-ion battery, but GM says it has the potential to operate over a wider temperature range and more cycles.

Courtesy of GM

The Trump administration has placed particular emphasis on building the U.S. battery supply chain and reducing its dependence on China.

And earlier this week, Transport Minister Sean Duffy expressed “deep concern” about Ford’s China ties, citing CATL licensing in particular. This despite the fact that Ford is the car manufacturer with the highest vehicle production in the USA

Kelty had said of Ford days earlier: “They’re going a different route.”

“We think it’s more valuable to develop all of this domestically, take advantage of domestic supply chains and develop technology that is actually better than the established technology,” said Kelty, a former battery manager at the U.S. electric vehicle leader Tesla.

“Skipping” Chinese technology?

Sam Abuelsamid, battery expert and vice president of market research at Telemetry, noted that it will likely take years to establish a battery supply chain.

At the same time, China continues to develop and produce new types of chemicals, including sodium ions.

“There is no reason why the LFP materials cannot be produced here,” Abuelsamid said. “There are ways to do that, but… the sodium ions would be even cheaper and easier to make.”

Kelty said multiple times that GM hopes to “overtake” China’s battery technologies, noting that it would be difficult to compete directly with Chinese supply chains or replicate what that market has already established.

“The better thing is to take a leap and develop a different, actually better technology that we can actually source here,” Kelty said.

Kelty said he sees sodium ions as the best solution for ESS because their chemistry and temperature tolerance allow cells to function without active cooling – a major source of cost and complexity associated with ESS. This improvement means a reduction in the operating costs of energy storage, he said.

The Warren Battery Cell Innovation Center at General Motors’ global technology and design campus in suburban Detroit.

Photo by Steve Fecht for General Motors

The Detroit automaker is spending $900 million on new battery lab facilities at its global technology campus in suburban Detroit. This includes a more than 500,000 square meter facility for prototyping cells, which is scheduled to start operations this year.

Still, this amount of funding is small compared to what would be needed to significantly loosen China’s grip on the industry.

“We are consciously taking the path of using American-developed technology,” Kelty said. “Batteries are critical to many different areas of our economy here.”

—CNBC’s Robert Ferris contributed to this report.