Nestled toward the northwest corner of the GM Global Technical Center campus in Warren, Michigan sits the Charles Kettering Research & Development (R&D) headquarters – a place where many disruptive technologies were born. From the first electrical ignition system to “robonauts” and Lunar Terrain vehicle technologies developed with NASA, the innovations born out of Kettering R&D have had lasting impact across the universal transportation space.
It’s why I was honored to take the helm this year as the executive director of R&D at GM. Not only because GM has the automotive industry’s longest-running R&D department (more than a century, dating back to 1920), but also because of the leading-edge technology that this team is actively developing. GM R&D catalyzes an ecosystem of innovation; our scientists collaborate with engineering, software, manufacturing, design, and other tech teams internally, along with universities, national laboratories, and other companies externally to enable GM’s vision.
Our mission is to identify, invent, and develop research which delivers products people crave and experiences they never forget, with outstanding value to the company. With this in mind, our team has worked across the enterprise to develop eight strategic programs that are guiding our focus moving forward:
- Product Safety & Integration: Predict, prevent, and mitigate safety risks.
- Connected Immersive Experience: Intelligent, adaptive cabin experiences.
- Advanced Batteries: Next-gen propulsion and energy storage solutions.
- Extreme Vehicle Efficiency: Transformative improvements in internal combustion engine, hybrid, and electric vehicle platforms.
- Engineering & Computational Acceleration: AI-driven design and digital transformation for engineering processes.
- Robotics: Advanced robotics systems and collaborative robots that improve manufacturing safety and quality.
- Future Factory: Industry technologies for fast, flexible, frugal manufacturing that empowers our workforce to problem-solve and enhances production quality and efficiency.
- Federal Systems Research: Leveraging GM innovation for defense and space.
This work is well underway, and significant recent wins provide great momentum to propel GM into 2026: four R&D 100 Awards. The R&D 100 Awards are looked at as “The Oscars of Innovation,” recognizing significant science and technology advancements. Here’s a roundup of the R&D 100 Awards GM received thanks to the incredible work of our teams:
- DR-Weld – High-Performance Digital Reality Simulation Tool: Led by Oak Ridge National Laboratory and co-developed by GM and others, this tool simulates welding and additive manufacturing thousands of times faster than commercial software, reducing simulation from months to days and enabling broad industrial applications.
- Extreme Fast Charging and Affordable Cell for Electric Vehicles: An ultra-fast charging battery cell architecture. We’ve already deployed this technology in some racing platform low-voltage batteries and are intrigued by our continued research on potential future applications.
- Low Mass and High Efficiency Medium-Duty Truck Engine: Led by GM and co-developed with a host of other contributors throughout research labs, academia, and manufacturing, this V8 medium-duty truck engine prototype cuts weight by 15%, boosts fuel efficiency by over 10%, and proves durability under extreme conditions through rigorous dynamometer testing.
- Ultra-Robust Silicon All-Solid-State Battery: Silicon and solid-state materials represent two of the most exciting future battery technologies. In this initiative, we’ve brought them together with tests indicating industry-leading battery cycle life and safety, building our excitement to continue developing and maturing the technology.
We also won a number of other awards in 2025, including the National Association of Manufacturers (NAM) Manufacturing Leadership award, the Society of Automotive Engineers Forest McFarland Award, three Department of Energy “Distinguished Achievement Team” awards, the Society of Manufacturing Engineers S.M. Wu Research Award, the Society of Plastics Engineering Material Innovation Award, and the International Magnesium Science and Technology Summit Innovative Product of the Year Award.
With a legacy of innovation leading us to this point and recognition of many recent achievements as we wrap up 2025, GM R&D and our partners have a clear vision on the road ahead as we continue to shape the future of mobility.
