Is GM Really the Future for Michigan?

Senator Debbie Stabenow's website lists the recipients of $1,360,680,000 in federal monies for advanced battery, manufacturing and job training funding. The website URL has an extension of "advanced battery funding."

On the list of applicants for this money, which is part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, General Motors will receive $105,900,000 for "Production of high-volume battery packs for GM's Volt." The battery manufacturing assignment has already been given to LG Chem, a Korean company.

While LG Chem will supply the lithium-ion batteries, the packs will be assembled here in a new "state of the art" manufacturing facility in Brownstown Township, MI.

It will create 100 new jobs so far.

Of the partnership arrangements with foreign companies, I wonder how long manufacturing will continue - or expand - in Michigan. Have we commitments entwined in the tax incentives Michigan is offering to locate in our state?

A123 Systems gets $249m, we can assume to build manufacturing facilities in MI to produce nanotechnology lithium ion batteries, although none of the links on their site are working right now. A Boston Globe story indicates battery alternative-use companies were not awarded reinvestment dollars, but understands that the U.S. automotive industry needs a little refreshing.

In the same package, Johnson Controls, an American company, is getting $299,200,000 for "Production of nickel-cobalt-metal battery cells and packs, as well as production of battery separators (by partner Entek) for hybrid and electric vehicles." Michigan anticipates a Holland, MI plant. Excellent.

GM will also receive $105,900,000 for "Construction of U.S. manufacturing capabilities to produce the second-generation GM global rear-wheel electric drive system."

Is the first generation on the road yet? Or still?

GM will also receive $30,500,000 to "Develop, analyze, and demonstrate up to 5,000 Chevrolet Extended Range Electric Vehicles (EREV) - 125 Volt PHEV's to EPRI and utilities and 500 (up to 5000) Volt PHEV's to consumers."

Those are marketing dollars, not reinvestment dollars. GM is still noodling around with a "near-production" test Volt, not scheduled to arrive until the second half of 2010; and probably not until 2011. GM, in abandoning its EV1 program in the 90s, deemed electric cars not a profitable enough niche. Instead of building alternative energy cars, GM decided to put money in fighting CARB legislation, scrapped its electric car program, and crushed the prototypes, except those cars now housed in museums.

Now we're dumping federal dollars and tax incentives into their decision-making skill set.

University of Michigan ($2.5m), Michigan Technological University ($2.98m) and Wayne State University ($5m) receive 3% of the dollars GM will get. Michigan State University is not listed.

Is this enough investment in the real future - education? Are we putting a half-dozen of our eggs in a used basket? Are we supporting a limping GM because the company has demonstrated the best business model, or because we don't know what else to do?

Can Michigan target the actual companies who will lead the way to clean technology? Where are the major players in the world of lithium-ion, nickel-cobalt-metal, and electric hybrid technologies? Are we targeting those innovators? What other applications do these batteries have beyond automotive? What green technology are we pursuing that is not inextricably welded to automotive manufacturing?

I need to look up "nickel-cobalt-metal" batteries. Doesn't sound too green to me. Maybe it's another oxymoronic phrase like "clean coal."

Are we avidly pursuing repurposing the idled manufacturing facilities littering Michigan, irrefutable rusting evidence of the abandonment of a skilled labor force in favor of cheaper manufacturing outside the United States?

We're all keeping our green manufacturing thumbs crossed for the rebirth of the Ford Wixom plant by Clairvoyant Energy and Xtreme Power.

And maybe I just missed the part where there are U.S. reinvestment dollars being awarded for job training funding.