GM said current EVs use batteries that are more expensive than the LMR battery. People will be able to go further and get their car for cheaper with the new battery. Officials said that Lansing’s two GM assembly plants plan to use LMR batteries in the near future.

General Motors and LG Energy Solution will begin commercial production of lithium manganese-rich (LMR) prismatic battery cells by 2028.

So what is LMR? Lithium manganese-rich is a lithium-ion technology designed to remove a significant amount of cobalt from the cathode, which reduces the cost of the battery to near LFP (lithium iron phosphate) levels, while maintaining more energy density.

GM says the new cells will be cheaper for a few reasons. For one, manganese is cheaper than cobalt or nickel. The LMR chemistry will have 0-2% cobalt, 30-40% nickel, and 60-70% manganese. That’s significantly less than today’s leading NMC cells, which are up to 10% cobalt and 80% nickel.