How GM Will Use Its 2022 GMC HUMMER EV Battery Technology in Electric Boats

GM is planning to electrify boating using the same technology that it is using in the all-new 2022 GMC HUMMER EV.

General Motors is continuing its expansion into other modes of transportation as it accelerates its switch to all-electric vehicles like the 2022 GMC HUMMER EV. GM is investing in an electric boat company called Pure Watercraft. Earlier this summer we told you that GM is already leveraging its Ultium battery platform and HYDROTEC hydrogen fuel cell technology to make trains, trucks and airplanes greener.

How Pure Watercraft Can Help General Motors

General Motors is buying 25 percent of Pure Watercraft. Pure Watercraft will use some of GM’s technology in creating new marine propulsion systems.

“GM’s stake in Pure Watercraft represents another exciting opportunity to extend our zero-emissions goal beyond automotive applications,” said Dan Nicholson, GM vice president of Global Electrification, Controls, Software and Electronics. “Building upon GM’s existing efforts to strategically deploy our technology across rail, truck and aerospace industries, the combined expertise of these two enterprises should result in future zero-emissions marine product offerings, providing consumers with more choice than before.”

General Motors has promised to spend $35 billion dollars through 2025 developing electric and autonomous vehicle technology. It has also committed to selling some of its battery expertise to the rail and aerospace industry to help those industries switch to cleaner technology. The money earned from those sales will help offset some of GM’s research and development costs. GM’s investment in Pure Watercraft will also give the automaker access to the boat company’s Pure Outboard technology that makes its boats more energy efficient. Pure Watercraft claims that its Pure Outboard motors pollute less and are cheaper to operate and repair than other outboard motors. It is possible that GM will be able to use some of that technology in its future vehicles.

“Our mission is to enable a new era in boating,” said Andy Rebele, founder and CEO of Pure Watercraft. “This joint effort with GM is expected to enable us to make significant technological advancements in range and charging, while achieving volume production.”

How GM Can Help Pure Watercraft

General Motors will use its engineering and supply chain expertise to help make Pure Watercraft’s manufacturing more efficient. Pure Watercraft will perhaps use some of GM’s Ultium battery technology to increase the range of its boats and also speed up its charging mechanisms. General Motors can use the profit from selling its battery technology to finance its future vehicles like the 2024 GMC HUMMER EV SUV.

At this point GM and Pure Watercraft are not saying exactly what type of boats they hope to develop, or what size of watercraft they are considering. GM does stress that the Ultium battery platform can be used in everything from mass-market to high-performance vehicles. That would be true in boats as well as automobiles. GM has said all along that the Ultium batteries can be reconfigured to power any size of vehicle, from small to very large. If the batteries can be altered to power semitrucks, locomotives and airplanes, they could easily be used in any type of boat as well.

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