Fall Colloquium: Driving American battery technology forward with Kurt Kelty
Fall Colloquium: Driving American battery technology forward
Please join the MIT Energy Initiative as we welcome Kurt Kelty, vice president of battery, propulsion, & sustainability at General Motors. He will present the first seminar of MITEI Presents: Advancing the Energy Transition speaker series for the fall 2025 semester.
From the early days of powering handheld electronics to today’s electric trucks getting more than 400 miles of range, battery innovation has transformed mobility and energy systems. General Motors (GM) is advancing next-generation technologies and driving battery innovation from the lab to commercialization. Beyond vehicles, GM is extending its technology leadership into applications such as grid-scale energy storage, helping to build a more resilient and circular energy ecosystem. These efforts are not just engineering milestones—they represent a systemic approach to making batteries more efficient, affordable, and competitive at scale. This session will explore how GM’s electrification powerhouse is positioning it and U.S. industry for global leadership in battery technology.
This event is for the MIT Community. Please register with an MIT.edu email address.
Speakers
Kurt Kelty
Vice President of Battery, Propulsion, & Sustainability, General Motors
Kurt Kelty serves at GM’s vice president of battery, propulsion, & sustainability. Appointed to his role in February 2024, Kelty leads GM’s comprehensive propulsion technology and battery innovation strategy and life cycle approach, encompassing raw material sourcing, research and development (R&D), battery cell and pack commercialization, and sustainability initiatives including end-of-life solutions. Additionally, Kelty oversees GM’s global sustainability strategy, focusing on environmental responsibility, social impact, and ethical business practices.
Kelty is a globally recognized battery expert with more than 30 years of experience in energy storage technology spanning multiple sectors, from consumer electronics to electric vehicles. This includes work experience across the battery value chain as a material supplier, cell-maker, and end-user.
Kelty began his career in lithium-ion batteries in 1993 with Panasonic, where he created joint development programs to advance rechargeable li