A breakthrough battery project started by General Motors in 2015 will produce a working power pack by the end of the decade, according to Kushal Narayanaswamy, the automaker’s director of advanced battery cell engineering.
The innovation is a lithium manganese-rich, or LMR, pack. Collaboration with LG Energy Solution has brought the promising technology over significant hurdles, including short lifespans and voltage decay. Now the team plans to unlock benefits headlined by low cost and “impressive range,” per Narayanaswamy.
The success is thanks to a mix of dopants, coatings, and particle engineering, according to the expert.
The LMR combo will form the cathode, one of two electrodes in a battery cell. Ions move between them through an electrolyte. Experts for most automakers and in other labs are experimenting with a variety of materials, including odd ones such as cow hair and potassium, to find a cheaper, better-performing component list.
Current GM truck and SUV packs use nickel-manganese-cobalt-aluminum oxide chemistry. Others in the sector are moving forward with lithium-iron phosphate, or LFP, packs. That’s in addition to common lithium-ion ones. But GM thinks LMRs can outperform the other types in development.
“With LMR we can make EVs more affordable,” Narayanaswamy wrote. Silverado EVs cost between $55,000 and just over $91,000, for reference, according to Kelley Blue Book. The Chevy Equinox EV starts at $33,600.
Part of the breakthrough is using a rectangular “prismatic” cell design instead of a common pouch configuration.
“Prismatic cells reduce both the number of required parts and the percentage of non-active materials. More specifically, prismatic cells reduce battery module components by 75% and total pack components by 50%,” Narayanaswamy wrote.
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GM is also part of an alliance of eight well-known brands that plan to add 30,000 fast-charging stations around the country during the next half decade. The infrastructure will be needed to meet a growing market. Nearly 300,000 EVs were sold in the United States during the first quarter, an 11.4% jump from the same time last year, according to Cox Automotive.
Narayanaswamy said that GM already offers the longest-range truck with the Chevrolet Silverado EV Work Truck with max range. It has a government-rated 492-mile ability on a full charge.
As for the future of GM’s batteries, pack and propulsion head Kurt Kelty told InsideEVs that the team has the freedom to innovate, as if starting from scratch.
“If you’re starting with a blank sheet of paper, you can use anything you want, you can use cylindrical, prismatic, pouch, and any chemistry. That’s a win for a battery guy. It doesn’t get much better than that,” he said.
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