Building an affordable car using the technology will require advances in battery technology, the company said. Batteries powerful enough to allow the kind of highway speed and power drivers are accurstomed to also tend to produce a lot of excess heat. Battery companies are researching ways to produce batteries last longer and don't run hot while still being able to store and release ample power.

GM recently announced a contract with two battery companies to research advanced batteries that could be used in a Saturn Vue plug-in hybrid. That vehicle could be based on engineering like the Chevolet Volt's.