General Motors has hired battery expert and former Tesla executive Kurt Kelty as the company's new vice president of batteries, a position that is new to the company. He will take office on February 19. Kelty will join GM at a time when the automaker is working to ramp up production of battery packs for its new Ultium platform, which will power the next generation of electric vehicles.
"The foundation GM has built, coupled with Kurt's exceptional battery expertise in leading battery chemistry development, building partnerships, establishing supply chains and working closely with teams that develop leading battery systems, will help us achieve our electrification goals and position GM as a leader in electric vehicle technology," GM President Mark Reuss said in a statement.
Kelty served as Tesla's battery team leader for more than a decade. He was involved in the launch of Tesla's first four cars: Roadster, Model S, Model X and Model 3. He also worked at Panasonic, Tesla's battery development partner at its Gigafactory in Nevada.
Most recently, he served as vice president of commercialization for Sila Nanotechnologies, a company founded by early Tesla employee Gene Berdichevsky that has been developing a silicon-based anode that could significantly increase the energy density of lithium-ion batteries.