Why would a automotive firm be concerned in supplying power for the AI revolution?That is precisely what’s taking place with Normal Motors, one of many largest carmakers within the US.In a transfer that blurs the strains between automaking and power infrastructure, GM is getting into the facility enterprise by a brand new settlement with Redwood Supplies, a startup run by Tesla cofounder JB Straubel.When GM electrical automobile batteries come to the top of their helpful lives in automobiles, the corporate offers them a second life by a recycling cope with Redwood. The settlement contains new US-manufactured batteries from GM and second-life battery packs from GM electrical autos.These batteries will provide power to AI information facilities, GM and Redwood introduced on Wednesday.”The marketplace for grid-scale batteries and backup energy is not simply increasing; it is turning into important infrastructure,” stated Kurt Kelty, vp of battery, propulsion, and sustainability at GM. “Electrical energy demand is climbing, and it is solely going to speed up. To satisfy that problem, the US wants power storage options that may be deployed shortly, economically, and made proper right here at dwelling. GM batteries can play an integral function.”The joint effort, introduced simply weeks after Redwood launched its new power storage arm, Redwood Power, is already bearing fruit.
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GM EV batteries are serving to energy a brand new Redwood microgrid in Nevada, the most important second-life battery set up on the planet, in line with the startup. That system helps Crusoe, an organization constructing AI information facilities that demand large, always-on energy.As AI information facilities push electrical energy demand to new highs, the necessity for grid-scale power storage has turn out to be pressing. What’s shocking is how auto batteries, initially designed to maneuver automobiles, at the moment are being tapped to stabilize the electrical grid and allow the following wave of computing.This collaboration additionally underscores a bigger industrial development: turning retired belongings into strategic sources as world provide chains turn out to be harassed by geopolitical tensions and the specter of tariffs.”Each GM’s second-life EV batteries and new batteries may be deployed in Redwood’s power storage techniques, delivering quick, versatile energy options and strengthening America’s power and manufacturing independence,” Straubel stated in a press release.Extra particulars are anticipated later this yr, although one factor is already clear: the street from EVs to AI runs by energy storage, and GM needs to be within the driver’s seat.
