The company is targeting the new batteries — called lithium manganese-rich (LMR) prismatic battery cells — to be used in full-size electric vehicles beginning in 2028.

General Motors has cracked the chemistry of lower-cost, energy-dense electric vehicle batteries. Budget-conscious gasoline holdouts may soon have no excuse.

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 zero to 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.