President Biden attends GM Factory Zero grand opening

On Nov. 17 General Motors celebrated the grand opening of its Factory Zero, which the company described as a milestone in its all-electric future. President Joe Biden attended the event and toured the new electric vehicle manufacturing facility.

The president test-drove the electric Hummer and F-150 Lightning and called them “masterpieces of modern manufacturing, built by union workers.” He cited them as “proof that America has what it takes to win the 21st century.”

Biden also referenced the just-signed infrastructure bill, which includes funding to install a national network of EV charging stations and includes sizable tax credits for consumer purchases of EVs. He added, “The competitive edge around the world depends on the strength of our industrial base here at home.”

Production is now set to begin at the former Detroit-Hamtramck assembly plant, less than two years after GM announced the $2.2 billion investment to fully renovate the facility to build several all-electric trucks and SUVs.

“GM’s U.S. manufacturing expertise is key to achieving our all-electric future,” said GM Chair/CEO Mary Barra. “This is a monumental day for the entire GM team. We retooled Factory Zero with the best, most advanced technology in the world to build the highest-quality electric vehicles for our customers.”

The name Factory Zero reflects the significant role the facility plays in advancing GM’s vision of a world with zero crashes, zero emissions, and zero congestion. Factory Zero will be where the 2022 GMC Hummer EV pickup, 2024 GMC Hummer EV SUV, Chevrolet Silverado EV, and the Cruise Origin will be manufactured. The automaker expects to employ more than 2,200 when the plant is fully operational.

The Debut of the Ultium Platform at Factory Zero

All of the factory’s EVs will be built on GM’s Ultium platform, which GM calls the heart of its EV product strategy. It comprises a common vehicle architecture and propulsion components like battery cells, modules, packs, drive units, EV motors, and integrated power electronics and is fundamental at plants where EVs are produced.

The platform is designed for a strategic value chain shift across the company’s network of vehicle assembly plants; the company can then standardize and streamline machinery, tooling, and assembly processes. This flexibility enables lower capital investments and greater efficiencies as additional assembly plant transformations occur, the company said.

Factory Zero is the model for GM’s renovation of existing facilities.

GM retooled Factory Zero for EV production for two-thirds the capital required to build a greenfield plant, the company said. As the company continues its transition to an all-electric fleet, it will reduce capital costs by up to $15 billion by 2030 through the renovation of existing manufacturing facilities versus ground-up construction.

Preproduction of the 2022 GMC Hummer EV pickups began at Factory Zero this fall, and the first GMC Hummer EVs are on track to be delivered to customers by the end of the year.

“To meet our ambitious EV transition, GM’s North American EV vehicle assembly capacity will reach 20% by 2025, and then 50% by 2030,” said Gerald Johnson, GM’s executive vice president of global manufacturing and sustainability. GM estimates that 80% of the assembly process for an EV is the same as that for conventional vehicles. The company has refined and perfected its own standardized manufacturing processes over many decades.

Factory Zero’s People

GM’s Factory Zero team is managing an average of 11 major launches each year, both internal combustion engine and EV. As a result, GM can produce an EV in the same number of working hours it takes to build an ICE vehicle.

“Our people are GM’s true competitive advantage—an advantage you simply can’t buy or quickly build,” said Johnson. “At Factory Zero, we are building on that experience with the training that will deliver EV and AV [autonomous vehicle] launch success with safety, quality, and speed while continuing to drive down cost per unit.”

Commitment to Sustainability

As an EV assembly plant, Factory Zero plays a direct role in GM’s commitment to eliminate tailpipe emissions from new light-duty vehicles by 2035 and become carbon neutral in its global products and operations by 2040. The company has already committed to invest $35 billion in EVs and AVs and plans to introduce more than 30 EV models by 2025.

Sustainability is key at the new plant:

• The automaker reused or recycled almost every material that came out of the facility during conversion, including crushed concrete from the old plant floor, which was repurposed for temporary roads around the facility.
• Stormwater will be recycled to reduce discharge costs and offset the cost of potable water.
• Treated stormwater will be used in cooling towers and the plant’s fire suppression system.
• The site features a 30-kW solar carport and 516-kW ground-mounted photovoltaic solar array from DTE Energy.
• The site has a 16.5-acre wildlife habitat.