GM Vice President of Battery and Pack Kurt Kelty said during the GM Investor Day presentation that the automaker is exploring different battery chemistries and form factors to optimize cost and range. Kelty, a former Tesla executive, had a lot to say about batteries, but the big takeaway is the possibility that GM trucks will use lithium iron phosphate (LPE) batteries in electric pickup trucks.
LPE batteries have safety and longevity advantages over other types of EV batteries, but their biggest strength is their relatively low cost due to their lower nickel content. The big trade-off is that LPE batteries have a lower energy density, which means a lower range compared to battery packs with higher nickel content.
“NiCad (nickel-cadmium), nickel metal hydride (NiMH), and lithium-ion (Li-ION) technology, including nickel manganese cobalt (NiMnCo) and lithium-ion phosphate (LiFePO4) were all invented in North America,” Kelty said, going on to explain how Asian companies have commercialized these technologies with low labor costs, local materials, subsidies, and close proximity to EV buyers. “Today, the US has the customer base; we have many favorable public policies, we’ve got an ecosystem with suppliers and talent, both in manufacturing and development, that will rapidly accelerate local battery innovation and production. GM is poised to leverage these macroeconomic conditions.”
Then, Kelty dug deeper into the batteries’ chemistry and why it matters. “Chemistry is the key driver for cost and also impacts form factor, range, safety, and energy density. As a result, the future GM battery roadmap will include high-nickel, mid-nickel, and LFP cathodes…We’ll expand the use of LFP in North America in models where we can achieve outstanding range at a lower cost.”
So, what does that mean for electric GM trucks? “For example, today, we use high-nickel chemistry in our electric truck platform, offering more than 490 miles of range…With LFP, we have an opportunity nobody else has. We have enough space in our truck platform that, with clever engineering, we can use low-cost LFP to get range of over 350 miles. And our team is actively working to localize supply of LFP with more to come.”
Although the expanded 2025 lineups for electric GM trucks – namely the Chevy Silverado EV and GMC Sierra EV – introduce more options at lower costs compared to their respective 2024 models, they’re still quite a bit pricier than their closest ICE-powered variants. Using LFP batteries could get electric GM trucks closer to price parity with gas- and diesel-powered pickups. It would come at the cost of range, but Kelty’s estimate of 350 miles is still more than enough for the daily driving duties of most Americans.
“Our combined cell and battery pack costs continue to get lower year over year,” Kelty said on the topic of battery costs. “We saw a $60 per kilowatt-hour reduction on average from 2023 to 2024, and we expect another $30 per kilowatt-hour reduction in 2025. And we’re going to take those costs even lower by expanding our use of LFP. When we introduce our Gen 2 battery packs with LFP, we expect to save another $6,000 per vehicle. In summary, GM is evolving to a multifaceted approach.”
Comments
Doesn’t matter, as these currently loose 10k+ per unit, and the ICE versions make 10-15K per unit. You could use LFP batteries and aluminum wiring, drop the costs 10K, and the resulting 250 mile range and get the price down to 50K/unit and GM would still loose money. Point of business is to make money.
Another person who doesn’t understand the difference between actual cost to build, and cost including capital expense. It takes a while for sales to cover the cost of retooling lines and building those battery plants.
LiFePO4 is Lithium Iron Phosphate, also known as Lithium Ferrophosphate, which is abbreviated as LFP, not LPE. It’s correct in the title but not in the article.
LFP batteries trade lower density for a much longer lifecycle. Compared to traditional Lithium Ion (Li-ION), LFP batteries better resist dendrite growth when charged up to 100% (dendrites are what cause batteries to lose total capacity over time, and if they are allowed to grow long enough they can be a cause of catastrophic fires). Tesla vehicles with LFP batteries even recommend owners charge up to 100% weekly to keep the battery calibrated.
But as much as LFP has a lower cost and some perks over traditional lithium ion batteries, its lower density is a significant problem. As the article notes, GM saves $6,000 per vehicle but you lose 140 miles, or 29%, from the total battery capacity by switching from high nickel to LFP. That might be a bridge too far for some customers.
From what I understand, the goal is to “get people into EVs and advance the tech as they sell.” They will still offer the traditional Ultium setup with more Nickel with higher range (but obviously will be for more expensive trims). The option with more range will still be there (as you are totally right. The lower range will be a nonstarter for many). However, if they can keep the range above 300 miles, they can still bring in a customer base that will only use the car to drive locally. I just did a drive from my home in Bergen County NJ to Elkridge MD and did 230 miles.
The problem is that in the case of EVs, 300 is nearly impossible unless you literally have no other accessory running and its a perfectly warm day.
They could do even better by implementing more diesels on these product lines.
And who will make your diesel in 5 years or less? LOL
It is nice to see that GM is going to have new battery options.
As always though, I hope GM drops the Pouch batteries for cylindrical ones as quickly as possible.
Why would they move to thousands of flashlight cells, making manufacturing more complex and allowing more points of failure? The next step is prismatic cells, with even fewer cells needed, not downgrading to cylinders.