The earliest NMC cells used about the third third of the nickel, manganese and cobalt. The current Ultium cells “High Nickel” GM exchanged a lot of this cobalt with nickel, while adding aluminum. They apply, said GM Andy Oura battery engineer, about 5 percent of cobalt and 10 percent of the manganese, and the rest are nickel and aluminum.
However, LMR cells replace manganese – which is cheaper and more globally profuse – for some more high-priced nickel and virtually all cobalt. They are, as Oury said, from 60 to 70 percent of the manganese, from 30 to 40 percent of nickel and only up to 2 percent cobalt.
The modern chemistry in the second type of cell will also apply the modern module format. Standardized Ultium NMCA modules for each vehicle were the right solution for GM to launch the current offer of 12 different EV models, gave its exects. Going further, the company predicts the apply of various chemistry for various purposes: NMCA for high performance and the most talented models, currently LMR for long -range costs, and LFP for the cheapest models.
Economical electric SUVs and long-range trucks
So if LMR Chemistry actually produces a cell that costs as little as LFP with higher energy density, it can be game changers – including for the competitiveness of North America with China in the critical sphere of battery development and production.
“LMR will complement our solutions with high nickel and iron phosphorus to expand the selection of customers on truck markets and full-size SUVs,” said Kurt Kelta, Vice President of GM for batteries, drive, drive and sustainable development. He said that “American innovations of batteries would develop and create jobs in the future.”
In particular, LMR packages will reduce the costs of full-size EV and SUV models to close their prices to the prices of their gasoline counterparts. This is crucial for increasing the sales of full -size EV models, which have not yet reached the same volumes and market penetration as those from compact and medium -sized EV GM.