GM and LG plan to start commercial production of cost-effective EV batteries by 2028, aiming to reduce costs and meet rising global EV demand.

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.

The early repayment came on the same day GM announced its goal to become the first automaker to use a new, cheaper battery chemistry for electric vehicles.

General Motors aims to deploy the industry's first lithium manganese-rich (LMR) batteries on its next-generation electric trucks and SUVs, tapping an alternative chemistry that it claims will provide more energy at a lower cost.