Mary Barra, CEO of General Motors: "Our large electric car batteries will be able to store more energy in the same size as a current battery."

That the introduction of electric cars to the market is proving more difficult than it initially seemed is beyond doubt. Investments continue to multiply, with billions spent on innovation, development, and upgrades . And every so often, news emerges from manufacturers ( especially Chinese ) that have achieved greater autonomy, shorter charging times, greater energy density , etc. That's why it's surprising that the latest company to announce better batteries is General Motors. The sleeping giant seems to be awakening from its slumber (or rather, its crisis) and has just revealed its new standard for the batteries of its large electric SUVs and pickups: LMR (Lithium Manganese Rich).

The truth is that General Motors has gained momentum since its restructuring in 2009 , when it was left with only the Buick, Chevrolet and Cadillac brands and had to confine itself to the North American market to survive. Now, despite the fact that its profits have plummeted in the last quarter due to the impact of tariffs, it hopes to disrupt the large electric car market with its new LMR batteries, produced in conjunction with LG: “The new chemistry, rich in manganese lithium that we are developing with LG, will be a game changer due to its unique balance of energy density, charging capacity and profitability,” said Mary Barra, CEO of General Motors in her presentation collected by the media InsideEVs .

So, five years after GM and LG began their collaboration , it seems that a new generation of high-capacity batteries is close to hitting the market. In a press release, General Motors claims that the new LMR battery “has 33% higher energy density compared to the best lithium iron phosphate (LFP)-based cells and at a reasonable cost,” the American giant assures. “GM aims to offer more than 400 miles (644 km) of range in a large electric vehicle, with significant savings in battery pack cost,” the statement concludes.

The change in the chemistry of LMR batteries is key to their lower cost, as they use a higher proportion of manganese (cheaper and more abundant), reducing the use of nickel and cobalt (more expensive and difficult to extract). InsideEVs provides another key insight, as the supply chain "can be disconnected from China, refined, and processed here in the United States." A textbook win-win .

In any case, it won't be immediate, as the batteries won't begin production until 2027 and will begin to be installed in the American giant's large pickup trucks and SUVs starting in 2028. But it's clear that LG and General Motors have already opened the floodgates for LMR batteries, and we're sure to see more similar announcements from other manufacturers in the coming months and years. As we mentioned at the beginning, investments in electric cars continue to multiply.