Earlier this year at the Detroit Auto Show, GM announced that it was partnering with the University of Michigan to create the Advanced Battery Coalition for Drivetrains (ABCD). The objective of ABCD has been on researching batteries as they pertain to automotive applications.

Now they have announced the creation of the GM/U-M Institute of Automotive Research and Education. The institute will be driven by the goal of “developing the next generation of high-efficiency vehicles powered by diverse energy sources.”

GM has stated that the work students do at the institute will not only help to train far-thinking drivetrain engineers but will see actual research that will “supplement ongoing work within GM.”

GM’s investment in the new institute will be $9 million. While some might balk at the thought of GM/taxpayers spending money like this, it’s out opinion that this is exactly the type of research that GM should have been investing in the in the first place. This is no time for them to get left in the technological dust.