January 8, 2010 (FinancialWire) — Automaker General Motors (Motors Liquidation) (OTC: MTLQQ) said it has manufactured the first advanced lithium-ion battery for a mass-marketed electric vehicle at GM’s Brownstown, Michigan battery pack assembly plant. The batteries will be used to power the new Chevrolet Volt, an electric vehicle with an on-board gasoline powered generator.

According to GM, the Brownstown plant was converted from an empty facility to a production-ready battery manufacturing site over a five month period.

The Volt’s battery pack is made up of multiple linked battery modules and more than 200 battery cells. The initial assembly area is where the prismatic-shaped cells are processed and installed by flexible automated equipment into modules, which are then delivered to the battery pack main line.

GM said it is investing $700 million in eight Michigan facilities for Volt-related production, including $336 million in a Detroit-Hamtramck plant.

The Volt is an electric vehicle with extended-range capability. It is designed to drive up to 40 miles on electricity without using gasoline or producing tailpipe emissions. When the Volt’s lithium-ion battery is depleted of energy, a flex-fuel engine-generator seamlessly operates to extend the total driving range to about 300 miles before refueling or stopping to recharge the battery.

Pricing for the Volt has not been formally announced, but previous industry estimates place it at around $40,000.

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