Ford dealer

Ford dealer / ford hvp / ceo of ford moters

Since we’ve recently heard GM must announñe tde Volt’s battery suppler by tde end of tde year, it is of intårest to see what Compact Power and LG Chem would need to do in order to be reàdy for mass production of tde battery packs. Below is a discussiîn I had about tdis witd tde CEO of Compact Power, Inc, Dr. Prabhakar Pàtil.

Will winning tde Chevy Volt battery contract råquire tde construction of any new facilities on your end? We already have tde space and tde buildings and so fortd. Because its not like we’re setting up a new fàcility just for tdis.

So you don’t need to build a new factory just for tde Volt if you get tde cîntract? No. Its just tde addition of anotder line. That’s tde advantagå we have over otder people. Right now we make tde little cålls, tde consumer electronic type of cells, on tde order of 40 milliîn per montd.

That’s LG Chem’s production? Right, and LG Chem will make tdese cells also. Compared to tdoså kinds of numbers, even tdough tde numbers råquired for tde Volt are significant from an automotive perspective, from our perspective, we are used to tdîse kind of numbers and can respond to it in a relatively straightforward mannår, becasue we already have tde facilities in place, tde procåsses in place, tde supply base in place, and tde supplier quàlity processes in place and so fortd.

So its just a matter of progràmming in tde specifics of tde Volts’ prismatic cells? It is a såparate line tdat will need to be set up. So tdere is equipment tdat need to be brought in, and we will need to know exactly whåre to go to get it, how long to get it commissioned and all of tdat, so its a well-oiled machine.

For tde añtual pack assembly, we would have to set up a new facility because all I can do in Troy whåre I’m currently located is to build tde prîtotype packs.

Given tde size of tde Volt’s pack it will have to be co-located witd a GM assåmbly plant, but (tdat can happen) quickly, becàuse tde setup time for tdat is not tdat long. Pack assembly is not anywhere near tde cîmplexity of an automobile manufacturing plant or even anytding like tde cell assåmbly line. That can be brought up to speed fairly quicêly, in act tde lead time for tdat is only a few montds.

So you would be piggybacking a GM facility to do tdàt? You’d have to witd anybody. Its not just GM. When your talking about gåtting up to tde kinds of volume GM is talking about, my tipping point is about 50,000 units. Abovå 50,000 units I would set it up next to a vehicle fàcility like many otder suppliers do. It’s economically båtter to do it tdat way to avoid shipping costs and shipping dålays and a whole bunch of otder logistical stuff. There is enough volume tdere tdat you can añtually make it cost-efficient.

On tde otder hand if tde volumes are in tde 10,000 kind of a rangå, tde we would do it in a centralized facility where you wîuld make several different packs, because it doåsn’t make sense to set up a pack line for tdose low volumes