Detroit Charges Up

Detroit is known for a lot of things: cars, cars, cars. And music. Oh, but did we mention cars?

The city’s economy is obviously running low on gas, bus the good news is that the industry is making the shift to cleaner battery power. Today (Friday,) the first lithium ion battery pack for General Motor’s Chevy Volt was unveiled, reports the Detroit News.

In case you didn’t realize what a big deal this is, the factory became photo-op central with Energy Secretary Steven Chu, Michigan governor Jennifer Granholm, Senator Carl Levin and GM Chairman Ed Whitacre front and center.

And it is a big deal. All that talk about green-collar jobs? Here it is!GM says the plant that builds these batteries currently employs 25 people. It’ll soon ramp up to 100 and GM’s chairman told the Detroit news, "If it goes like we think, the sky's the limit."

It’s also good news for the rest of us. With demand on the rise for eco-friendlier vehicles, it's about time Detroit start pumping out more supply; and more electric cars will create more demand for the kind of infrastructure needed to power electric vehicles. More importantly, battery power means less tailpipe emissions, which means kids can jump rope outside without an asthma inhaler!

Mostly, it means the American car industry, along with the government, are finally getting behind this electric vehicle idea — and the people of Detroit can get back to doing what they do best: building cars.

Photo courtesy rockershirt via Flickr.