GM’s AI Battery Play Could Chip Away at China’s Data Center Grip

The AI boom is creating a battery opportunity far beyond electric vehicles. General Motors Co (NYSE:GM) is adapting its U.S. battery operations for grid storage and AI data centers, putting the automaker into a market where China has a commanding supply-chain position. For GM, the bigger opportunity may be selling the infrastructure that keeps AI running. GM Takes Batteries Beyond EVs GM is changing what its battery business is designed to do. Instead of focusing exclusively on batteries that move vehicles, the automaker is developing technology for stationary storage, where batteries can help supply power when the grid comes under pressure. GM is working with Peak Energy on sodium-ion batteries designed specifically for grid-scale storage. The company plans to develop prototype cells at its Wallace Battery Cell Innovation Center in Michigan. GM says sodium-ion technology could offer a lower-cost option for applications where durability and economics matter more than energy density. GM is also moving beyond prototypes. Ultium Cells, its battery joint venture with LG Energy Solution, began producing LFP battery cells for energy storage at its Tennessee facility in July after a $70 million retooling investment. The company says the cells will support grid-scale and data-center projects across North America. Read Also: Trump Is Touting Toyota, Micron and GM. Wall Street May Like One Stock Best. China’s Battery Advantage That expansion matters because the AI power buildout is colliding with a battery supply chain heavily concentrated in China. The International Energy Agency says LFP batteries account for around 90% of global battery-storage deployments, while China represented roughly 60% of new battery-storage capacity added globally in 2025. The IEA also says China dominates LFP materials and precursor production. GM’s U.S. manufacturing footprint does not eliminate that dependence. But it gives the company a way to help build more domestic battery capacity as electricity demand from AI grows. That opportunity is already moving beyond the factory floor. AI Creates A New Customer GM says it is working with Redwood Materials to deploy roughly 10,000 GM batteries into energy infrastructure, including at Crusoe’s AI data center in Nevada. The project gives GM a real-world test of whether its battery technology can serve customers outside the auto industry. For investors, the key question is whether this remains an adjacent project or becomes a meaningful new business. LFP production, commercial progress on sodium-ion batteries and additional data-center deployments are the milestones to watch. If GM can scale those efforts, its battery business could become an unexpected play on AI infrastructure, grid resilience and the U.S. push to diversify away from China. Read Also: Tesla Turns US Factory Into China Risk Hedge Image: Shutterstock