Latest news with #LMR
Business Wire
5 days ago
- Automotive
- Business Wire
Stratus Materials Releases and Begins Shipping LXMO-2, its 2nd Generation LMR CAM, to Customers and Partners
PITTSBURGH--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Stratus Materials Inc., a company focused on the development and commercialization of lithium manganese-rich (LMR) cathode active material (CAM) for lithium-ion batteries, announces that, as of May 2025, it has transitioned to a second-generation cobalt-free 'LXMO-2' CAM and started shipping to customers and partners. This progression to LXMO-2 further solidifies Stratus's position as a clear leader in the rapidly emerging field of LMR CAMs. This next step in our innovation journey strengthens our leadership in the rapidly growing LMR CAM market, delivering high performance, high safety, low cost, and superior cycle life, all without cobalt. Share Versus other LMR offerings, LXMO-2 provides superior stability in capacity and voltage compared to other LMRs, enabling best-in-class energy retention over battery lifetime. Less than 20% fade on capacity and less than 5% fade on average discharge voltage after 1,200 full DoD cycles with upper cutoff voltages exceeding 4.4 volts have been achieved [ data plot link ]. In addition, the density of this material enables high energy cells, with well over 300 Wh/kg and 700 Wh/liter demonstrated. Finally, LXMO-2 delivers unparalleled performance and stability without the use of CAM coatings or dopants, resulting in a simpler, more stable, and lower cost CAM solution. Versus prior LXMO offerings from Stratus, LXMO-2 offers improvements in terms of efficiency, specific capacity, rate performance, and discharge energy while maintaining superior safety, stability, manufacturability, processability, and cost advantages. Industry activity focused on elevating LMR material has increased significantly over the past 12 months, with several major electric vehicle OEMs recently announcing their intentions to deploy LMR in their next generation vehicles [ CleanTechnica May 14, 2025 ]. If properly designed and stabilized, LMR can deliver a highly attractive value proposition: cells with energy densities at or above those of mid- or high-nickel NMCs, but with cost and safety profiles similar to those of LFP. At the systems level, the combination of LMR's high safety and high energy density can result in pack-level energy densities that are up to twice those of NMC or LFP packs. Jay Whitacre, CEO of Stratus Materials commented: 'The major pack-level energy density and cost advantages that are enabled by our patent-pending cobalt-free LXMO are substantial. EV OEMs and their suppliers gain highly attractive design freedom concerning pack size, system cost, and EV range that are currently unavailable.' Since mid-2023, Stratus has been engaged with a broad set of leading EV OEMs, cell & pack manufacturers, and CAM producers to evaluate and optimize its LXMO CAM offerings and associated technologies. These efforts have validated the core advantages of LXMO over other competing CAMs, and have allowed Stratus to focus its ongoing innovation efforts on the product dimensions that are most important to its partners and customers. The most recent result of this customer-informed work is LXMO-2. Pilot Line: Stratus is also pleased to announce that it is in the final stages of standing up a 30-ton per year pilot manufacturing line in Pittsburgh, PA. This line, which will be operational in the 4th quarter of 2025, is key to demonstrating the scalability of LXMO material production and to supplying customers and partners with larger evaluation quantities in the coming quarters. Stratus Materials is a U.S. based company focused on the development and commercialization of next-generation, LMR cathode active materials for lithium-ion batteries. Our mission is to disrupt the CAM supply chain by offering materials with a game-changing combination of performance, safety, and cost. Stratus is primarily focused on cathode solutions for light- and medium-duty electric vehicles, stationary energy storage solutions, and other applications with similar requirements. Stratus's business model is licensing partnerships, where Stratus teams with large, existing CAM producers or users to produce and sell LXMO into the lithium-ion battery industry.
Daily Telegraph
18-06-2025
- Automotive
- Daily Telegraph
GM invests in LMH manganese batteries
Don't miss out on the headlines from Motoring News. Followed categories will be added to My News. Electric cars could become cheaper and more efficient through new technology with Australian minerals at its core. General Motors is leading a charge toward new batteries made with a high proportion of manganese produced in Western Australia's Pilbara region. The tech, which is also being pursued by Ford, promises to reduce dependence on cobalt and nickel supplies increasingly controlled by Chinese firms. MORE: The pros and cons of going electric An employee holds a full-size prototype LMR battery cell at the General Motors Wallace Battery Cell Innovation Center. Photo: Steve Fecht for General Motors The carmaker promises to make new Lithium Manganese-Rich (LMR) batteries that match the cost of existing Lithium Iron Phosphate (LFP) batteries while delivering significantly more range. Which means that, mile for mile, the LMR batteries are cheaper than existing tech. Andy Oury, battery engineer and business planning manager for General Motors in Detroit, told Australian reporters 'this is a big deal'. MORE: China's EV move changes everything Chevrolet's Silverado EV is a rival to conventional V8 petrol models. 'That's going to help us get battery costs that are comparable to LFP with significantly higher energy density,' he said. 'There is hundreds of pounds of weight savings for the same amount of range when you go from LFP to LMR.' GM is working with LG in a joint venture called Ultium Cells to make the tech a reality. MORE: Why China is winning the EV race Ford is also investing in manganese batteries. The brand's chief executive, Jim Farley, recently told US media that difficulties securing lithium and other minerals made battery production a 'hand-to-mouth' proposition. Ford chief financial officer Sherry House told reporters that rare earth materials in China had to go through a difficult export control and administrative process before reaching Wester brands. MORE: 1000km EV batteries around the corner General Motors battery technician Steven Petty Jr. focuses on aligning electrodes on an anode sample for a prototype LMR battery cell in the making. Photo: Steve Fecht for General Motors Kushal Narayanaswamy, director of advanced battery cell engineering for GM, wrote in May that 'LMR is going to make it possible for GM to offer EVs with premium range at considerably lower cost. We can't wait.' Lower prices are just the beginning. While General Motors representatives are reluctant to talk up a tech war with China, EV experts are quick to point out the major upside of LMR batteries. Wired says successful implementation of the tech 'could be a game changer' that would 'circumvent China's stranglehold on intellectual property for EV batteries'. Inside EVs points out that 'China holds a commanding grip on the raw materials that power most electric vehicles sold in the U.S. and around the world', which is why Charged EVs says shifting to manganese-rich battery chemistry could 'provide a way to break China's dominance of the market'. GMC Hummer EV Pickup. Picture: Supplied Australia has an enormous role to play in the pivot to LMH batteries. GM has invested in ASX-listed mining firm Element 25, forging an agreement for the Western Australia-based company to supply enough manganese sulfate to put 1 million electric cars on the road. Madeleine King, Minister for Resources and Northern Australia, announced on Tuesday that Element 25's Butcherbird manganese project in the Pilbara secured $50 million in support through the a loan by the government's Northern Australia Infrastructure Facility. Element 25's Butcherbird manganese project. Image: Element 25 Element 25 managing director Justin Brown said on X that it is a 'pivotal step in the delivery of what is going to be a game-changing project for the company', and a 'key step in our journey to become an end to end, vertically integrated refiner of manganese into high purity battery products for electric vehicle battery manufacturing.' Originally published as GM invests in LMH manganese batteries
The Advertiser
16-06-2025
- Automotive
- The Advertiser
Why GM is betting on a new type of EV battery
General Motors says its upcoming lithium manganese rich (LMR) batteries will offer an ideal balance of cost and range for certain electric vehicles (EVs). The American automaker plans to offer LMR batteries in addition to its existing types of lithium-ion batteries: lithium iron phosphate (LFP), intended for use in more affordable vehicles, and nickel manganese cobalt (NMC), which it uses in more high-end vehicles. 'Rich' isn't an element on the periodic table, of course. Instead the name refers to a higher percentage of manganese being used but less in the way of nickel and cobalt. "We think that LMR really has an opportunity to be the low-cost chemistry in North America that's American pioneered and aligned with the infrastructure we already have in place," GM battery engineer Andrew Oury told media at the GM Technical Center in Michigan. "LMR has cost that's comparable to LFP but instead of having a range capped at around 350 miles [563km], we can get well over 400 miles [644km] of range with LMR." Hundreds of new car deals are available through CarExpert right now. Get the experts on your side and score a great deal. Browse now. The new LMR batteries will enter commercial production in 2028 at GM/LG Energy Solutions joint-venture plants. GM says that LMR batteries have been studied since the 1990s, but the chemistry has never been employed in EVs due to concerns over short battery life and voltage decay. But it claims LMR cells it has tested have energy density 33 per cent greater than the best-performing LFP cells on the market, while matching the lifespan of current-generation high-nickel cells. Additionally, it can produce LMR batteries using the same equipment used to produce NMC batteries. "That's a big benefit to localising low-cost chemistry. LFP wouldn't be able to use the same manufacturing lines – it needs different lines," said Mr Oury. But why is GM almost completely removing cobalt from the equation for these new EV batteries? One word: cost. "One of the easiest formulations of NMC is to take equal parts of nickel, manganese and cobalt, blend them together, and because you've got one part of each, we call that NMC 1-1-1," explained Mr Oury. "The problem with it is these materials don't have the same cost. Cobalt is clearly the most expensive of those materials, nickel is the next most expensive, and manganese is pretty affordable. "There's been a tailwind at the back of every battery engineer for the last 10 years, which was everybody just said, 'We're going to drop the cobalt as low as possible, and we're going to increase the nickel as high as possible as a cost-saving strategy'. "So you get rid of the most expensive one, you go to the next most expensive one. The reason you didn't go straight to the lowest cost one is because nickel is better at storing energy than manganese, so that helps get energy density up along the way. "Every time the industry made a shift towards higher nickel, folks said you won't be able to make a battery that lasts long, it'll overheat, it won't charge fast enough, the battery won't be stable, and it won't be abuse tolerant." Mr Oury explained many EV batteries have gone from 30 per cent nickel to as much as 80 per cent. With its NMR batteries, it plans to push that back down to 30 or 40 per cent, while pushing manganese up to 60 or 70 per cent. "That's going to help us get battery costs that are comparable to LFP with significantly higher energy density. This is a challenge, but we've addressed it with how we manufacture every element of the cell from the electrolyte to the energy-storing materials in the can," said Mr Oury. That doesn't mean GM will phase out LFP batteries, which it will offer in the Chevrolet Silverado EV and next-generation Bolt, or NMC batteries, as used in vehicles like its electric Cadillac lineup. "Going forward, we'll continue to use high-nickel chemistries where you need the longest range. In the rest of the market, we'll enable LFP near the entry level and LMR for mainstream or value vehicles," said Mr Oury. "We're building enough sales volume in different segments that we don't have to use the exact same engineering solution across all segments. "We can now have an engineering segment for this segment and a modified one for that segment. We'll still have large economies of scale but we can bring our piece cost and manufacturing cost down by being more application-specific." He cited the example of the base Work Truck (WT) version of the Chevrolet Silverado EV pickup, which offers a claimed range of 792km. With prismatic cells and LFP chemistry, it can offer 563km from a single charge – so "more range using low-cost LFP chemistry than some of our competition can get using the more expensive high-nickel chemistry", explained Mr Oury. Despite recent headwinds for EVs – chief among them a new administration in the US that has proven hostile towards the technology – GM is charging ahead. GM has two joint-venture battery plants with LG Energy Solutions and is building one with Samsung SDI, plus it has built a battery cell innovation centre at its Tech Center in Warren, Michigan that can produce full-size cells for prototyping. Under construction is a battery cell development centre which will be able to produce half a gWh worth of cells annually. "This plant will look like a faction of one of these plants, it'll have equipment that's largely the same, that can run at about the same speed and help us bridge that gap between prototype manufacturing and full-scale manufacturing," explained Mr Oury. GM is expanding from pouch cells to new prismatic cells (pictured above), which will be produced at both of its joint ventures. With these prismatic cells, GM can employ fewer but larger modules. In its electric pickup trucks, this means it can go from 24 modules to just six, with total battery module components reduced by 75 per cent and total pack components by 50 per cent. "We don't think anybody's building a lower-cost cell in North America than we are," said Mr Oury. GM currently offers a diverse lineup of EVs, ranging from the mid-size Chevrolet Equinox EV (pictured above) all the way up to full-size pickups and SUVs such as the GMC Hummer EV and Sierra EV. It's currently second in terms of EV sales in the US, behind only Tesla. It doubled its EV market share in 2024 as new models came on stream, and grew sales 94 per cent in the first quarter of this year – or almost two full points of market share. GM also builds a range of Buick, Chevrolet and Cadillac electric SUVs in China, and is launching Cadillac into new markets with an EV-only lineup. The Cadillac Lyriq, launched in Australia earlier this year, is GM's first EV in Australia. Content originally sourced from: General Motors says its upcoming lithium manganese rich (LMR) batteries will offer an ideal balance of cost and range for certain electric vehicles (EVs). The American automaker plans to offer LMR batteries in addition to its existing types of lithium-ion batteries: lithium iron phosphate (LFP), intended for use in more affordable vehicles, and nickel manganese cobalt (NMC), which it uses in more high-end vehicles. 'Rich' isn't an element on the periodic table, of course. Instead the name refers to a higher percentage of manganese being used but less in the way of nickel and cobalt. "We think that LMR really has an opportunity to be the low-cost chemistry in North America that's American pioneered and aligned with the infrastructure we already have in place," GM battery engineer Andrew Oury told media at the GM Technical Center in Michigan. "LMR has cost that's comparable to LFP but instead of having a range capped at around 350 miles [563km], we can get well over 400 miles [644km] of range with LMR." Hundreds of new car deals are available through CarExpert right now. Get the experts on your side and score a great deal. Browse now. The new LMR batteries will enter commercial production in 2028 at GM/LG Energy Solutions joint-venture plants. GM says that LMR batteries have been studied since the 1990s, but the chemistry has never been employed in EVs due to concerns over short battery life and voltage decay. But it claims LMR cells it has tested have energy density 33 per cent greater than the best-performing LFP cells on the market, while matching the lifespan of current-generation high-nickel cells. Additionally, it can produce LMR batteries using the same equipment used to produce NMC batteries. "That's a big benefit to localising low-cost chemistry. LFP wouldn't be able to use the same manufacturing lines – it needs different lines," said Mr Oury. But why is GM almost completely removing cobalt from the equation for these new EV batteries? One word: cost. "One of the easiest formulations of NMC is to take equal parts of nickel, manganese and cobalt, blend them together, and because you've got one part of each, we call that NMC 1-1-1," explained Mr Oury. "The problem with it is these materials don't have the same cost. Cobalt is clearly the most expensive of those materials, nickel is the next most expensive, and manganese is pretty affordable. "There's been a tailwind at the back of every battery engineer for the last 10 years, which was everybody just said, 'We're going to drop the cobalt as low as possible, and we're going to increase the nickel as high as possible as a cost-saving strategy'. "So you get rid of the most expensive one, you go to the next most expensive one. The reason you didn't go straight to the lowest cost one is because nickel is better at storing energy than manganese, so that helps get energy density up along the way. "Every time the industry made a shift towards higher nickel, folks said you won't be able to make a battery that lasts long, it'll overheat, it won't charge fast enough, the battery won't be stable, and it won't be abuse tolerant." Mr Oury explained many EV batteries have gone from 30 per cent nickel to as much as 80 per cent. With its NMR batteries, it plans to push that back down to 30 or 40 per cent, while pushing manganese up to 60 or 70 per cent. "That's going to help us get battery costs that are comparable to LFP with significantly higher energy density. This is a challenge, but we've addressed it with how we manufacture every element of the cell from the electrolyte to the energy-storing materials in the can," said Mr Oury. That doesn't mean GM will phase out LFP batteries, which it will offer in the Chevrolet Silverado EV and next-generation Bolt, or NMC batteries, as used in vehicles like its electric Cadillac lineup. "Going forward, we'll continue to use high-nickel chemistries where you need the longest range. In the rest of the market, we'll enable LFP near the entry level and LMR for mainstream or value vehicles," said Mr Oury. "We're building enough sales volume in different segments that we don't have to use the exact same engineering solution across all segments. "We can now have an engineering segment for this segment and a modified one for that segment. We'll still have large economies of scale but we can bring our piece cost and manufacturing cost down by being more application-specific." He cited the example of the base Work Truck (WT) version of the Chevrolet Silverado EV pickup, which offers a claimed range of 792km. With prismatic cells and LFP chemistry, it can offer 563km from a single charge – so "more range using low-cost LFP chemistry than some of our competition can get using the more expensive high-nickel chemistry", explained Mr Oury. Despite recent headwinds for EVs – chief among them a new administration in the US that has proven hostile towards the technology – GM is charging ahead. GM has two joint-venture battery plants with LG Energy Solutions and is building one with Samsung SDI, plus it has built a battery cell innovation centre at its Tech Center in Warren, Michigan that can produce full-size cells for prototyping. Under construction is a battery cell development centre which will be able to produce half a gWh worth of cells annually. "This plant will look like a faction of one of these plants, it'll have equipment that's largely the same, that can run at about the same speed and help us bridge that gap between prototype manufacturing and full-scale manufacturing," explained Mr Oury. GM is expanding from pouch cells to new prismatic cells (pictured above), which will be produced at both of its joint ventures. With these prismatic cells, GM can employ fewer but larger modules. In its electric pickup trucks, this means it can go from 24 modules to just six, with total battery module components reduced by 75 per cent and total pack components by 50 per cent. "We don't think anybody's building a lower-cost cell in North America than we are," said Mr Oury. GM currently offers a diverse lineup of EVs, ranging from the mid-size Chevrolet Equinox EV (pictured above) all the way up to full-size pickups and SUVs such as the GMC Hummer EV and Sierra EV. It's currently second in terms of EV sales in the US, behind only Tesla. It doubled its EV market share in 2024 as new models came on stream, and grew sales 94 per cent in the first quarter of this year – or almost two full points of market share. GM also builds a range of Buick, Chevrolet and Cadillac electric SUVs in China, and is launching Cadillac into new markets with an EV-only lineup. The Cadillac Lyriq, launched in Australia earlier this year, is GM's first EV in Australia. Content originally sourced from: General Motors says its upcoming lithium manganese rich (LMR) batteries will offer an ideal balance of cost and range for certain electric vehicles (EVs). The American automaker plans to offer LMR batteries in addition to its existing types of lithium-ion batteries: lithium iron phosphate (LFP), intended for use in more affordable vehicles, and nickel manganese cobalt (NMC), which it uses in more high-end vehicles. 'Rich' isn't an element on the periodic table, of course. Instead the name refers to a higher percentage of manganese being used but less in the way of nickel and cobalt. "We think that LMR really has an opportunity to be the low-cost chemistry in North America that's American pioneered and aligned with the infrastructure we already have in place," GM battery engineer Andrew Oury told media at the GM Technical Center in Michigan. "LMR has cost that's comparable to LFP but instead of having a range capped at around 350 miles [563km], we can get well over 400 miles [644km] of range with LMR." Hundreds of new car deals are available through CarExpert right now. Get the experts on your side and score a great deal. Browse now. The new LMR batteries will enter commercial production in 2028 at GM/LG Energy Solutions joint-venture plants. GM says that LMR batteries have been studied since the 1990s, but the chemistry has never been employed in EVs due to concerns over short battery life and voltage decay. But it claims LMR cells it has tested have energy density 33 per cent greater than the best-performing LFP cells on the market, while matching the lifespan of current-generation high-nickel cells. Additionally, it can produce LMR batteries using the same equipment used to produce NMC batteries. "That's a big benefit to localising low-cost chemistry. LFP wouldn't be able to use the same manufacturing lines – it needs different lines," said Mr Oury. But why is GM almost completely removing cobalt from the equation for these new EV batteries? One word: cost. "One of the easiest formulations of NMC is to take equal parts of nickel, manganese and cobalt, blend them together, and because you've got one part of each, we call that NMC 1-1-1," explained Mr Oury. "The problem with it is these materials don't have the same cost. Cobalt is clearly the most expensive of those materials, nickel is the next most expensive, and manganese is pretty affordable. "There's been a tailwind at the back of every battery engineer for the last 10 years, which was everybody just said, 'We're going to drop the cobalt as low as possible, and we're going to increase the nickel as high as possible as a cost-saving strategy'. "So you get rid of the most expensive one, you go to the next most expensive one. The reason you didn't go straight to the lowest cost one is because nickel is better at storing energy than manganese, so that helps get energy density up along the way. "Every time the industry made a shift towards higher nickel, folks said you won't be able to make a battery that lasts long, it'll overheat, it won't charge fast enough, the battery won't be stable, and it won't be abuse tolerant." Mr Oury explained many EV batteries have gone from 30 per cent nickel to as much as 80 per cent. With its NMR batteries, it plans to push that back down to 30 or 40 per cent, while pushing manganese up to 60 or 70 per cent. "That's going to help us get battery costs that are comparable to LFP with significantly higher energy density. This is a challenge, but we've addressed it with how we manufacture every element of the cell from the electrolyte to the energy-storing materials in the can," said Mr Oury. That doesn't mean GM will phase out LFP batteries, which it will offer in the Chevrolet Silverado EV and next-generation Bolt, or NMC batteries, as used in vehicles like its electric Cadillac lineup. "Going forward, we'll continue to use high-nickel chemistries where you need the longest range. In the rest of the market, we'll enable LFP near the entry level and LMR for mainstream or value vehicles," said Mr Oury. "We're building enough sales volume in different segments that we don't have to use the exact same engineering solution across all segments. "We can now have an engineering segment for this segment and a modified one for that segment. We'll still have large economies of scale but we can bring our piece cost and manufacturing cost down by being more application-specific." He cited the example of the base Work Truck (WT) version of the Chevrolet Silverado EV pickup, which offers a claimed range of 792km. With prismatic cells and LFP chemistry, it can offer 563km from a single charge – so "more range using low-cost LFP chemistry than some of our competition can get using the more expensive high-nickel chemistry", explained Mr Oury. Despite recent headwinds for EVs – chief among them a new administration in the US that has proven hostile towards the technology – GM is charging ahead. GM has two joint-venture battery plants with LG Energy Solutions and is building one with Samsung SDI, plus it has built a battery cell innovation centre at its Tech Center in Warren, Michigan that can produce full-size cells for prototyping. Under construction is a battery cell development centre which will be able to produce half a gWh worth of cells annually. "This plant will look like a faction of one of these plants, it'll have equipment that's largely the same, that can run at about the same speed and help us bridge that gap between prototype manufacturing and full-scale manufacturing," explained Mr Oury. GM is expanding from pouch cells to new prismatic cells (pictured above), which will be produced at both of its joint ventures. With these prismatic cells, GM can employ fewer but larger modules. In its electric pickup trucks, this means it can go from 24 modules to just six, with total battery module components reduced by 75 per cent and total pack components by 50 per cent. "We don't think anybody's building a lower-cost cell in North America than we are," said Mr Oury. GM currently offers a diverse lineup of EVs, ranging from the mid-size Chevrolet Equinox EV (pictured above) all the way up to full-size pickups and SUVs such as the GMC Hummer EV and Sierra EV. It's currently second in terms of EV sales in the US, behind only Tesla. It doubled its EV market share in 2024 as new models came on stream, and grew sales 94 per cent in the first quarter of this year – or almost two full points of market share. GM also builds a range of Buick, Chevrolet and Cadillac electric SUVs in China, and is launching Cadillac into new markets with an EV-only lineup. The Cadillac Lyriq, launched in Australia earlier this year, is GM's first EV in Australia. Content originally sourced from: General Motors says its upcoming lithium manganese rich (LMR) batteries will offer an ideal balance of cost and range for certain electric vehicles (EVs). The American automaker plans to offer LMR batteries in addition to its existing types of lithium-ion batteries: lithium iron phosphate (LFP), intended for use in more affordable vehicles, and nickel manganese cobalt (NMC), which it uses in more high-end vehicles. 'Rich' isn't an element on the periodic table, of course. Instead the name refers to a higher percentage of manganese being used but less in the way of nickel and cobalt. "We think that LMR really has an opportunity to be the low-cost chemistry in North America that's American pioneered and aligned with the infrastructure we already have in place," GM battery engineer Andrew Oury told media at the GM Technical Center in Michigan. "LMR has cost that's comparable to LFP but instead of having a range capped at around 350 miles [563km], we can get well over 400 miles [644km] of range with LMR." Hundreds of new car deals are available through CarExpert right now. Get the experts on your side and score a great deal. Browse now. The new LMR batteries will enter commercial production in 2028 at GM/LG Energy Solutions joint-venture plants. GM says that LMR batteries have been studied since the 1990s, but the chemistry has never been employed in EVs due to concerns over short battery life and voltage decay. But it claims LMR cells it has tested have energy density 33 per cent greater than the best-performing LFP cells on the market, while matching the lifespan of current-generation high-nickel cells. Additionally, it can produce LMR batteries using the same equipment used to produce NMC batteries. "That's a big benefit to localising low-cost chemistry. LFP wouldn't be able to use the same manufacturing lines – it needs different lines," said Mr Oury. But why is GM almost completely removing cobalt from the equation for these new EV batteries? One word: cost. "One of the easiest formulations of NMC is to take equal parts of nickel, manganese and cobalt, blend them together, and because you've got one part of each, we call that NMC 1-1-1," explained Mr Oury. "The problem with it is these materials don't have the same cost. Cobalt is clearly the most expensive of those materials, nickel is the next most expensive, and manganese is pretty affordable. "There's been a tailwind at the back of every battery engineer for the last 10 years, which was everybody just said, 'We're going to drop the cobalt as low as possible, and we're going to increase the nickel as high as possible as a cost-saving strategy'. "So you get rid of the most expensive one, you go to the next most expensive one. The reason you didn't go straight to the lowest cost one is because nickel is better at storing energy than manganese, so that helps get energy density up along the way. "Every time the industry made a shift towards higher nickel, folks said you won't be able to make a battery that lasts long, it'll overheat, it won't charge fast enough, the battery won't be stable, and it won't be abuse tolerant." Mr Oury explained many EV batteries have gone from 30 per cent nickel to as much as 80 per cent. With its NMR batteries, it plans to push that back down to 30 or 40 per cent, while pushing manganese up to 60 or 70 per cent. "That's going to help us get battery costs that are comparable to LFP with significantly higher energy density. This is a challenge, but we've addressed it with how we manufacture every element of the cell from the electrolyte to the energy-storing materials in the can," said Mr Oury. That doesn't mean GM will phase out LFP batteries, which it will offer in the Chevrolet Silverado EV and next-generation Bolt, or NMC batteries, as used in vehicles like its electric Cadillac lineup. "Going forward, we'll continue to use high-nickel chemistries where you need the longest range. In the rest of the market, we'll enable LFP near the entry level and LMR for mainstream or value vehicles," said Mr Oury. "We're building enough sales volume in different segments that we don't have to use the exact same engineering solution across all segments. "We can now have an engineering segment for this segment and a modified one for that segment. We'll still have large economies of scale but we can bring our piece cost and manufacturing cost down by being more application-specific." He cited the example of the base Work Truck (WT) version of the Chevrolet Silverado EV pickup, which offers a claimed range of 792km. With prismatic cells and LFP chemistry, it can offer 563km from a single charge – so "more range using low-cost LFP chemistry than some of our competition can get using the more expensive high-nickel chemistry", explained Mr Oury. Despite recent headwinds for EVs – chief among them a new administration in the US that has proven hostile towards the technology – GM is charging ahead. GM has two joint-venture battery plants with LG Energy Solutions and is building one with Samsung SDI, plus it has built a battery cell innovation centre at its Tech Center in Warren, Michigan that can produce full-size cells for prototyping. Under construction is a battery cell development centre which will be able to produce half a gWh worth of cells annually. "This plant will look like a faction of one of these plants, it'll have equipment that's largely the same, that can run at about the same speed and help us bridge that gap between prototype manufacturing and full-scale manufacturing," explained Mr Oury. GM is expanding from pouch cells to new prismatic cells (pictured above), which will be produced at both of its joint ventures. With these prismatic cells, GM can employ fewer but larger modules. In its electric pickup trucks, this means it can go from 24 modules to just six, with total battery module components reduced by 75 per cent and total pack components by 50 per cent. "We don't think anybody's building a lower-cost cell in North America than we are," said Mr Oury. GM currently offers a diverse lineup of EVs, ranging from the mid-size Chevrolet Equinox EV (pictured above) all the way up to full-size pickups and SUVs such as the GMC Hummer EV and Sierra EV. It's currently second in terms of EV sales in the US, behind only Tesla. It doubled its EV market share in 2024 as new models came on stream, and grew sales 94 per cent in the first quarter of this year – or almost two full points of market share. GM also builds a range of Buick, Chevrolet and Cadillac electric SUVs in China, and is launching Cadillac into new markets with an EV-only lineup. The Cadillac Lyriq, launched in Australia earlier this year, is GM's first EV in Australia. Content originally sourced from:
7NEWS
16-06-2025
- Automotive
- 7NEWS
Why GM is betting on a new type of EV battery
General Motors says its upcoming lithium manganese rich (LMR) batteries will offer an ideal balance of cost and range for certain electric vehicles (EVs). The American automaker plans to offer LMR batteries in addition to its existing types of lithium-ion batteries: lithium iron phosphate (LFP), intended for use in more affordable vehicles, and nickel manganese cobalt (NMC), which it uses in more high-end vehicles. 'Rich' isn't an element on the periodic table, of course. Instead the name refers to a higher percentage of manganese being used but less in the way of nickel and cobalt. 'We think that LMR really has an opportunity to be the low-cost chemistry in North America that's American pioneered and aligned with the infrastructure we already have in place,' GM battery engineer Andrew Oury told media at the GM Technical Center in Michigan. 'LMR has cost that's comparable to LFP but instead of having a range capped at around 350 miles [563km], we can get well over 400 miles [644km] of range with LMR.' Hundreds of new car deals are available through CarExpert right now. Get the experts on your side and score a great deal. Browse now. The new LMR batteries will enter commercial production in 2028 at GM/LG Energy Solutions joint-venture plants. GM says that LMR batteries have been studied since the 1990s, but the chemistry has never been employed in EVs due to concerns over short battery life and voltage decay. But it claims LMR cells it has tested have energy density 33 per cent greater than the best-performing LFP cells on the market, while matching the lifespan of current-generation high-nickel cells. Additionally, it can produce LMR batteries using the same equipment used to produce NMC batteries. 'That's a big benefit to localising low-cost chemistry. LFP wouldn't be able to use the same manufacturing lines – it needs different lines,' said Mr Oury. But why is GM almost completely removing cobalt from the equation for these new EV batteries? One word: cost. 'One of the easiest formulations of NMC is to take equal parts of nickel, manganese and cobalt, blend them together, and because you've got one part of each, we call that NMC 1-1-1,' explained Mr Oury. 'The problem with it is these materials don't have the same cost. Cobalt is clearly the most expensive of those materials, nickel is the next most expensive, and manganese is pretty affordable. 'There's been a tailwind at the back of every battery engineer for the last 10 years, which was everybody just said, 'We're going to drop the cobalt as low as possible, and we're going to increase the nickel as high as possible as a cost-saving strategy'. 'So you get rid of the most expensive one, you go to the next most expensive one. The reason you didn't go straight to the lowest cost one is because nickel is better at storing energy than manganese, so that helps get energy density up along the way. 'Every time the industry made a shift towards higher nickel, folks said you won't be able to make a battery that lasts long, it'll overheat, it won't charge fast enough, the battery won't be stable, and it won't be abuse tolerant.' Mr Oury explained many EV batteries have gone from 30 per cent nickel to as much as 80 per cent. With its NMR batteries, it plans to push that back down to 30 or 40 per cent, while pushing manganese up to 60 or 70 per cent. 'That's going to help us get battery costs that are comparable to LFP with significantly higher energy density. This is a challenge, but we've addressed it with how we manufacture every element of the cell from the electrolyte to the energy-storing materials in the can,' said Mr Oury. That doesn't mean GM will phase out LFP batteries, which it will offer in the Chevrolet Silverado EV and next-generation Bolt, or NMC batteries, as used in vehicles like its electric Cadillac lineup. 'Going forward, we'll continue to use high-nickel chemistries where you need the longest range. In the rest of the market, we'll enable LFP near the entry level and LMR for mainstream or value vehicles,' said Mr Oury. 'We're building enough sales volume in different segments that we don't have to use the exact same engineering solution across all segments. 'We can now have an engineering segment for this segment and a modified one for that segment. We'll still have large economies of scale but we can bring our piece cost and manufacturing cost down by being more application-specific.' He cited the example of the base Work Truck (WT) version of the Chevrolet Silverado EV pickup, which offers a claimed range of 792km. With prismatic cells and LFP chemistry, it can offer 563km from a single charge – so 'more range using low-cost LFP chemistry than some of our competition can get using the more expensive high-nickel chemistry', explained Mr Oury. Despite recent headwinds for EVs – chief among them a new administration in the US that has proven hostile towards the technology – GM is charging ahead. GM has two joint-venture battery plants with LG Energy Solutions and is building one with Samsung SDI, plus it has built a battery cell innovation centre at its Tech Center in Warren, Michigan that can produce full-size cells for prototyping. Under construction is a battery cell development centre which will be able to produce half a gWh worth of cells annually. 'This plant will look like a faction of one of these plants, it'll have equipment that's largely the same, that can run at about the same speed and help us bridge that gap between prototype manufacturing and full-scale manufacturing,' explained Mr Oury. GM is expanding from pouch cells to new prismatic cells (pictured above), which will be produced at both of its joint ventures. With these prismatic cells, GM can employ fewer but larger modules. In its electric pickup trucks, this means it can go from 24 modules to just six, with total battery module components reduced by 75 per cent and total pack components by 50 per cent. 'We don't think anybody's building a lower-cost cell in North America than we are,' said Mr Oury. GM currently offers a diverse lineup of EVs, ranging from the mid-size Chevrolet Equinox EV (pictured above) all the way up to full-size pickups and SUVs such as the GMC Hummer EV and Sierra EV. It's currently second in terms of EV sales in the US, behind only Tesla. It doubled its EV market share in 2024 as new models came on stream, and grew sales 94 per cent in the first quarter of this year – or almost two full points of market share. GM also builds a range of Buick, Chevrolet and Cadillac electric SUVs in China, and is launching Cadillac into new markets with an EV-only lineup. The Cadillac Lyriq, launched in Australia earlier this year, is GM's first EV in Australia.
Perth Now
16-06-2025
- Automotive
- Perth Now
Why GM is betting on a new type of EV battery
General Motors says its upcoming lithium manganese rich (LMR) batteries will offer an ideal balance of cost and range for certain electric vehicles (EVs). The American automaker plans to offer LMR batteries in addition to its existing types of lithium-ion batteries: lithium iron phosphate (LFP), intended for use in more affordable vehicles, and nickel manganese cobalt (NMC), which it uses in more high-end vehicles. 'Rich' isn't an element on the periodic table, of course. Instead the name refers to a higher percentage of manganese being used but less in the way of nickel and cobalt. 'We think that LMR really has an opportunity to be the low-cost chemistry in North America that's American pioneered and aligned with the infrastructure we already have in place,' GM battery engineer Andrew Oury told media at the GM Technical Center in Michigan. 'LMR has cost that's comparable to LFP but instead of having a range capped at around 350 miles [563km], we can get well over 400 miles [644km] of range with LMR.' Hundreds of new car deals are available through CarExpert right now. Get the experts on your side and score a great deal. Browse now. Supplied Credit: CarExpert The new LMR batteries will enter commercial production in 2028 at GM/LG Energy Solutions joint-venture plants. GM says that LMR batteries have been studied since the 1990s, but the chemistry has never been employed in EVs due to concerns over short battery life and voltage decay. But it claims LMR cells it has tested have energy density 33 per cent greater than the best-performing LFP cells on the market, while matching the lifespan of current-generation high-nickel cells. Additionally, it can produce LMR batteries using the same equipment used to produce NMC batteries. 'That's a big benefit to localising low-cost chemistry. LFP wouldn't be able to use the same manufacturing lines – it needs different lines,' said Mr Oury. Supplied Credit: CarExpert But why is GM almost completely removing cobalt from the equation for these new EV batteries? One word: cost. 'One of the easiest formulations of NMC is to take equal parts of nickel, manganese and cobalt, blend them together, and because you've got one part of each, we call that NMC 1-1-1,' explained Mr Oury. 'The problem with it is these materials don't have the same cost. Cobalt is clearly the most expensive of those materials, nickel is the next most expensive, and manganese is pretty affordable. 'There's been a tailwind at the back of every battery engineer for the last 10 years, which was everybody just said, 'We're going to drop the cobalt as low as possible, and we're going to increase the nickel as high as possible as a cost-saving strategy'. 'So you get rid of the most expensive one, you go to the next most expensive one. The reason you didn't go straight to the lowest cost one is because nickel is better at storing energy than manganese, so that helps get energy density up along the way. Supplied Credit: CarExpert 'Every time the industry made a shift towards higher nickel, folks said you won't be able to make a battery that lasts long, it'll overheat, it won't charge fast enough, the battery won't be stable, and it won't be abuse tolerant.' Mr Oury explained many EV batteries have gone from 30 per cent nickel to as much as 80 per cent. With its NMR batteries, it plans to push that back down to 30 or 40 per cent, while pushing manganese up to 60 or 70 per cent. 'That's going to help us get battery costs that are comparable to LFP with significantly higher energy density. This is a challenge, but we've addressed it with how we manufacture every element of the cell from the electrolyte to the energy-storing materials in the can,' said Mr Oury. That doesn't mean GM will phase out LFP batteries, which it will offer in the Chevrolet Silverado EV and next-generation Bolt, or NMC batteries, as used in vehicles like its electric Cadillac lineup. Supplied Credit: CarExpert 'Going forward, we'll continue to use high-nickel chemistries where you need the longest range. In the rest of the market, we'll enable LFP near the entry level and LMR for mainstream or value vehicles,' said Mr Oury. 'We're building enough sales volume in different segments that we don't have to use the exact same engineering solution across all segments. 'We can now have an engineering segment for this segment and a modified one for that segment. We'll still have large economies of scale but we can bring our piece cost and manufacturing cost down by being more application-specific.' He cited the example of the base Work Truck (WT) version of the Chevrolet Silverado EV pickup, which offers a claimed range of 792km. With prismatic cells and LFP chemistry, it can offer 563km from a single charge – so 'more range using low-cost LFP chemistry than some of our competition can get using the more expensive high-nickel chemistry', explained Mr Oury. Supplied Credit: CarExpert Despite recent headwinds for EVs – chief among them a new administration in the US that has proven hostile towards the technology – GM is charging ahead. GM has two joint-venture battery plants with LG Energy Solutions and is building one with Samsung SDI, plus it has built a battery cell innovation centre at its Tech Center in Warren, Michigan that can produce full-size cells for prototyping. Under construction is a battery cell development centre which will be able to produce half a gWh worth of cells annually. 'This plant will look like a faction of one of these plants, it'll have equipment that's largely the same, that can run at about the same speed and help us bridge that gap between prototype manufacturing and full-scale manufacturing,' explained Mr Oury. GM is expanding from pouch cells to new prismatic cells (pictured above), which will be produced at both of its joint ventures. Supplied Credit: CarExpert With these prismatic cells, GM can employ fewer but larger modules. In its electric pickup trucks, this means it can go from 24 modules to just six, with total battery module components reduced by 75 per cent and total pack components by 50 per cent. 'We don't think anybody's building a lower-cost cell in North America than we are,' said Mr Oury. GM currently offers a diverse lineup of EVs, ranging from the mid-size Chevrolet Equinox EV (pictured above) all the way up to full-size pickups and SUVs such as the GMC Hummer EV and Sierra EV. It's currently second in terms of EV sales in the US, behind only Tesla. It doubled its EV market share in 2024 as new models came on stream, and grew sales 94 per cent in the first quarter of this year – or almost two full points of market share. GM also builds a range of Buick, Chevrolet and Cadillac electric SUVs in China, and is launching Cadillac into new markets with an EV-only lineup. The Cadillac Lyriq, launched in Australia earlier this year, is GM's first EV in Australia.
