GM simulated 300,000 EV battery designs — using 34,000 years of computer time — before building a single cell. Now comes the physical part

gm (Credit: courtesy of GM)

General Motors says it simulated more than 300,000 designs for its next EV battery before building a single physical cell. The run took 300 million CPU hours, or one computer running around the clock for 34,000 years, by GM’s math.

GM pitched the number Wednesday at its GM Forward event as proof it can halve the traditional four-to-five-year vehicle development process, to about two years. With the battery, the team went from first pack concept to formal program approval in one month.