General Motors Co. on Tuesday announced it is developing a lower-cost way to store energy to be used by massive AI-powering data centers.

GM developers are working on sodium-ion battery chemistry at the Detroit automaker's Wallace Battery Cell Innovation Center in Warren, Michigan, GM Vice President of Battery and Sustainability Kurt Kelty said in a statement.

"Sodium is one of the most abundant elements on Earth, and that abundance creates apath toward battery systems built from more accessible materials with greater long-termresilience," Kelty said. "And because sodium-ion cells share important architectural similarities with lithium-ion, we can apply the battery expertise GM has built in cell design, prototyping, and industrialization to help move this chemistry forward."

GM is partnering with Peak Energy, an energy storage solution startup, on the battery chemistry.

Energy storage systems act as power banks for high energy users, such as data centers.

Prototyping sodium-ion chemistry for energy storage builds off years of GM research into battery tech for electric vehicles, which have not gained widespread popularity in the United States as quickly as many predicted.

Sodium-ion chemistry is not commonly used for electric vehicles because it requires more frequent charging. While the materials for sodium-ion batteries are cheaper, the batteries tend to be heavier as well, which further reduces vehicle range. Those setbacks for EVs make the chemistry well-suited for energy storage, Kelty said.

"When you’re talking to a utility, a hyperscaler, or other power providers in need of energystorage solutions, their priority is not maximizing range or minimizing weight," Kelty said. "It is delivering reliable, affordable power over long periods of time in real-world conditions.

"That is what makes sodium-ion battery technology so compelling, and it is why we at GM are developing next-generation sodium-ion battery cells purpose built for grid-scale storage, in partnership with Peak Energy and backed by a strategic investment from our GM Ventures arm."

The development is the latest in GM's ventures outside battery tech exclusively for EVs.

The company last year announced it would sell new battery packs and used EV batteries to Nevada-based recycling company Redwood Materials for use as energy storage systems.

GM on Tuesday announced new plans with Redwood to use some second-life battery packs from its EVs to power a GM manufacturing facility in Michigan beginning next year.

GM also will boost production at its Ultium Cells joint venture to make lithium-iron-phosphate cells for partner LG Energy Solution's energy storage business

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