LOUISVILLE, Ky. - General Motors received a Golden Spike Award from the National Alliance for Advanced Technology Batteries for its effort to bring one of the first modern, mainstream electric vehicles to market with the launch of the 2011 Chevrolet Volt.
The award was presented this week by Kentucky Gov. Steve Beshear at the alliance's annual meeting.
GM engineers and scientists have worked closely with LG Chem to develop the innovative lithium-ion battery that made the Chevrolet Volt a reality. A sophisticated battery management system helps to maximize the electric driving range of the Volt and ensure the reliability and durability of the battery.
The golden spike award is patterned after the golden railroad spikes that were presented to the Union Pacific Railroad and Central Pacific Railroad when the tracks from east and west met at Promontory Summit in the Utah Territory on May 10, 1869. That event marked the start of the modern railroad age with the completion of the first transcontinental rail line.
The gold-plated, seven-inch spike is inscribed with "In Commemoration of the Launch of the First Plug-in Electric Vehicles in United States" and "May this Spike Mark the Beginning of a New Transportation Age - the Age of Electric Vehicles".
"The achievements the spikes mark will one day be seen as being every bit as historic as the joining of the first transcontinental railroad," said James Greenberger, executive director of NAATBatt.
