Chemical spill suspends GM EV battery production

A CHEMICAL leak at General Motors’ Ultium Cells battery plant has paused production of EV batteries for a range of the manufacturer’s vehicles.

The spill, which is under investigation by US federal regulators, took place within the plant’s cathode mixing operations centre, and was immediately contained by employees. No one was harmed in the incident.

“The immediate surrounding area was cleared, and area mixing operations have been halted while we assess and address the situation,” said Ultium Cells spokesperson, Katie Burdette.

“None of our operators were present in the area and there has been no employee exposure or injuries.”

It is understood the cathode slurry contains N-Methyl-2-Pyrrolidon (NMP) which can enter the body through skin contact or inhalation causing eye, nose, throat and skin irritation.

In higher does, NMP can also affect the central nervous system and brain, causing symptoms similar to those of consuming alcohol.

NMP is used heavily in lithium-ion battery fabrication as a solvent for electrode preparation because of its unique ability to dissolve polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) binders commonly used in electrode production.

NMP and PVDF are among a range of chemicals and compounds utilised in the production of EV batteries.

Depending on the battery type, the manufacturing process may also involve the use of ammonium chloride, cadmium, carbon fluoride, chromium oxide, cobalt dioxide, copper oxide, dissolved organic solutions, lead oxide, lithium-carbon, lithium-copper, lithium salts iron disulphide, manganese dioxide, mercury oxide, nickel oxide, various alkaline solutions, zinc chloride, and zinc oxide.

Ms Burdette said operations in the cathode mixing area will remain paused until the clean-up is complete, and that the area has been “inspected for damage and deemed safe”. It is unclear how long production of Ultium cells will remain paused.

The United State’s Labor Department Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OHSA) has launched an investigation into the incident with body spokesperson, Scott Aleen, saying the agency is collecting information from Ultium Cells “as to the details of what happened, what actions they took to address them, and whether employees are still at risk”.

GoAuto understand the OHSA has six open investigations underway at the Ultium plant in question. The Ultium Cells facility is a joint venture between General Motors and South Korean-based LG Energy for the production of battery electric vehicle cells.