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GM's fourth-generation EV platform will use LMR prismatic cells from Ultium Cells, designed for 33% more energy density than LFP at comparable cost. No cell-level data yet.
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GM's image of its fourth-generation EV platform, which is planned to use LMR prismatic cells from Ultium Cells.
Image: General Motors
Source · Press image from the GM newsroom, used for news reporting.
General Motors said its fourth-generation EV platform will use lithium manganese-rich (LMR) prismatic cells that it designed for 33% more energy density than lithium iron phosphate (LFP) at a comparable price, outlined at its GM Forward event in New York on Oct. 21.
The cells will be built by Ultium Cells, GM's joint venture with LG Energy Solution, in Spring Hill, Tennessee, according to GM's release. GM says it plans to put LMR in its highest-volume EV segments, which a spokesperson told InsideEVs means crossover SUVs. The company gave no vehicle names or launch dates.
The 33% figure is a design target, not a measured result, and GM did not say whether it applies at cell or pack level. GM also says the cells, new drive units and better aerodynamics together deliver roughly 20% more range per kilowatt-hour than its current EVs. InsideEVs reported that GM puts the gains for the full vehicle at 15% less mass, 20% less battery capacity overall and 25% better aerodynamic performance, with 40% fewer parts inside each drive unit.
GM's stated targets for the fourth-generation platform; the company has not published cell-level data, according to its release and InsideEVs.
Illustration (AI-generated)
GM said it used computer modeling to test more than 300,000 cell designs before building a physical prototype, and that it took one month to go from the first LMR pack concept to formal program approval. Zach Walker, GM's director of global EV architecture, told InsideEVs the prismatic cells will be structurally integrated into the vehicle, but he would not say whether that means a cell-to-pack layout or modules.
LFP is the low-cost chemistry that dominates stationary storage as well as budget EVs. A manganese-rich cell that approaches nickel-rich range at LFP-like cost would, if it works, shrink the pack needed for a given range. Walker framed the economics around that point: equivalent or greater range from 20% less battery, in a system where the battery is the largest single cost.
The supply side is also moving. Ultium Cells said on Sept. 29 that upgrades at Spring Hill would begin later in 2026 and finish in 2028, adding 500 jobs to a workforce of about 1,200, and that it expects to be the first manufacturer worldwide to produce LMR commercially. EV Infrastructure News noted that the same plant began making LFP cells for LG Energy Solution's energy storage business in June 2026. GM has also been trimming other battery footprint, as Voltgrid reported on the Brownstown pack plant.
GM has not published cell-level energy density in Wh/kg or Wh/L, cycle life, charge rate, cold-weather behavior or annual cell capacity in GWh. Its release also does not address how the cells hold up over repeated charging. The 2028 date refers to completion of the Spring Hill upgrades; GM has not tied it to a vehicle start of production. Until GM shows validated cell data and names the first models, the figures remain company targets.
