General Motors announced that its Detroit-Hamtramck Assembly Center will be reconfigured to an all-electric vehicle assembly plant, known as Factory ZERO. The company stated that in will invest $2.2 billion in retooling and upgrades to position the facility to build EVs at scale, representing GM’s largest-ever investment in a plant.

Gerald Johnson, GM executive vice president of Global Manufacturing, said:

“Factory ZERO is the next battleground in the EV race and will be GM’s flagship assembly plant in our journey to an all-electric future. The electric trucks and SUVs that will be built here will help transform GM and the automotive industry.”

The Factory ZERO name refers to GM’s vision of a ‘zero-crashes, zero-emissions and zero-congestion’ future. According to the company, the multibillion dollar plant is being designed with a focus on sustainable manufacturing, and will serve As the launchpad for GM’s multi-brand EV strategy. Production at the reconfigured plant will include GMC HUMMER EV pickup and the Cruise Origin, a purpose-built electric, self-driving, shared vehicle, and other GM EVs. Production of the GMC HUMMER EV pickup will begin in late 2021.

GM stated that the GMC HUMMER EV and the Cruise Origin will be built on GM’s Ultium battery platform, the heart of GM’s future EV lineup. According to GM, Ultium is flexible enough to build a wide range of EVs, both cars and trucks. In a significant validation of the automaker’s EV battery platform, GM recently announced a partnership with EV company Nikola, which will include the use by Nikola of Ultium for its upcoming EV trucks.

GM announced several sustainability initiatives in place during the transformation of the plant, including the repurposing of concrete waste, and the recycling of stormwater. Factory ZERO, along with all DTE-supplied GM facilities in southeast Michigan will be powered by renewable energy by 2023. The factory also features a 30-kilowatt solar carport and 516-kilowatt ground-mount photovoltaic solar array from DTE.

Dane Parker, GM Chief Sustainability Officer, said:

“This manufacturing plant will be the epitome of GM’s vision by sustainably manufacturing electric and shared autonomous vehicles that can help reduce crashes, emissions and congestion.”