[Edaily Reporter Seong Ju-won] General Motors (GM) is aggressively expanding its energy storage business to meet the surging power demand from artificial intelligence (AI) data centers. While making equity investments in startups developing sodium-ion batteries, the company has also brought its "Vehicle-to-Grid (V2G)" service—which allows electric vehicle (EV) owners to sell electricity back to the grid using their home EV batteries—to the commercialization stage.

According to Bloomberg and CNBC on the 9th (local time), GM held a press conference in San Francisco, USA, and announced that it would jointly develop sodium-ion battery cells with Peak Energy Technologies, a startup based in Denver, Colorado. GM Ventures is making an equity investment in Peak Energy, though the investment amount was not disclosed.
Peak Energy is a startup founded in 2023. While its revenue this year is expected to be around $10 million (approximately 15.2 billion won), it is projected to grow to $100 million by 2027. Landon Mosberg, CEO of Peak Energy, stated, "We already have a $1.1 billion order backlog." Kurt Kelty, GM’s vice president of battery operations, said the company is exploring plans to mass-produce sodium-ion batteries at existing GM facilities or joint-venture plants in the future.
Sodium-ion batteries are considered more suitable for stationary (large-scale fixed) energy storage than lithium-ion batteries, which are primarily used in electric vehicles. Their primary raw material, sodium, is abundant and inexpensive, and they pose a lower fire risk compared to lithium-ion batteries. Since they do not require cobalt, there is no supply chain dependence on mines where child labor issues have been raised. GM expects to begin mass production of sodium-ion cells after 2028.
GM is also pursuing short-term solutions using existing battery technologies. Ultium Cells, a joint venture with South Korea’s LG Energy Solution, announced in March that it would invest $70 million in its Tennessee plant to begin production of lithium iron phosphate (LFP) batteries. LFP is considered a practical alternative that can quickly leverage existing battery production capacity. Additionally, the company is pursuing a partnership with Redwood Materials—a battery recycling firm founded by Tesla co-founder JB Straubel—to recycle used EV batteries for grid and commercial energy storage.

In the V2G sector, GM has added a feature allowing customers using existing "vehicle-to-home (V2H)" systems to sell electricity back to the grid via a software update. According to Reuters, GM is currently in discussions with about 10 utility companies and plans to launch commercial services within a few months, starting in California and Texas. In Michigan, a pilot program is underway involving DTE Energy and 30 GM employees. GM has adopted a revenue-sharing model in which it receives a portion of the revenue customers earn from selling electricity.
This announcement comes against the backdrop of a slump in GM’s EV business. GM had planned to achieve an annual production capacity of 1 million units in the U.S. by 2025, but actual production last year fell short at approximately 170,000 units. The EV business remains unprofitable.
Ford faces a similar situation. Ford previously announced it would invest $2 billion in the energy storage business by converting its existing EV battery plant using technology licensed from China’s CATL; following this announcement, Ford’s stock price recorded its largest monthly gain in 17 years. GM’s latest move appears to be following in Ford’s footsteps.
GM Vice President Kelty emphasized the company’s differentiation, stating, “We have taken a different approach from Ford,” and explained, “Rather than repurposing existing facilities, we are developing our own cell chemistry technology optimized for this specific application.” Bloomberg reported that while GM’s investment in energy storage is smaller than Ford’s, the potential for growth remains open.
According to projections by the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA), U.S. residential electricity rates have risen by approximately 48% since January 2020, and are expected to rise further to around 19 cents per kilowatt-hour (kWh) starting in March 2027. BloombergNEF forecasts that demand for batteries for the U.S. power grid will exceed 100 gigawatt-hours (GWh) by 2030—more than double the current level.
This is expected to have ripple effects on the domestic battery industry. LG Energy Solution, having already established a foothold in the grid-scale energy storage market through its joint venture with GM, is likely to benefit from expanded investment in U.S. power infrastructure. On the other hand, if sodium-ion batteries emerge as the leading technology, the long-term demand outlook for the lithium-based battery supply chain may need to be reassessed.
The key issue going forward is how many power companies will allow V2G services. Currently, most power companies are reluctant to adopt V2G due to investment costs, technological uncertainties, and a lack of users. Additionally, with V2G equipment costing around $5,000, convincing consumers remains a challenge. The market is watching to see if GM’s energy business will become a momentum driver for its stock price, similar to Ford’s, after 2028, when sodium-ion batteries are scheduled for commercialization.