# GM's big new battery tech push

- Show: [Catalyst](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/catalyst)
- Published: 2025-06-26
- Length: 36m
- Page: https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/catalyst/2025-06-26-gms-big-new-battery-tech-push

## Summary

Kurt Kelty, GM's VP of battery, propulsion, and sustainability, explains how GM is commercializing lithium-manganese-rich (LMR) batteries to offer high energy density at lower costs by swapping expensive nickel for abundant manganese. He details the technical hurdles of cycle life and formation time that previously stalled LMR, and how GM’s partnership with LG Energy Solutions and investments in domestic supply chains for materials like nickel and manganese are enabling mass production starting in 2028. Kelty argues that LMR will coexist with high-nickel and LFP chemistries, targeting mid-range EVs where cost and range balance is critical, while LFP remains preferred for stationary storage due to its superior cycle life.

## Chapters

- [2:11](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/catalyst/2025-06-26-gms-big-new-battery-tech-push#t=131) Introduction: Kurt Kelty and GM's Battery Strategy
- [4:39](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/catalyst/2025-06-26-gms-big-new-battery-tech-push#t=279) US Battery Manufacturing: GM's Factories and Capacity
- [6:45](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/catalyst/2025-06-26-gms-big-new-battery-tech-push#t=405) Supply Chain Localization: Minerals, Precursors, and Cathodes
- [11:20](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/catalyst/2025-06-26-gms-big-new-battery-tech-push#t=680) Onshoring Economics: Tariffs, Incentives, and Optimal Strategy
- [18:01](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/catalyst/2025-06-26-gms-big-new-battery-tech-push#t=1081) LMR Chemistry: Replacing Nickel with Manganese for Cost and Range
- [21:07](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/catalyst/2025-06-26-gms-big-new-battery-tech-push#t=1267) LMR vs. LFP: Trade-offs in EVs vs. Stationary Storage
- [23:49](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/catalyst/2025-06-26-gms-big-new-battery-tech-push#t=1429) Overcoming Technical Hurdles: Cycle Life and Formation Time
- [29:17](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/catalyst/2025-06-26-gms-big-new-battery-tech-push#t=1757) Manufacturing LMR: Drop-in Compatibility with Existing Lines
- [31:10](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/catalyst/2025-06-26-gms-big-new-battery-tech-push#t=1870) Future of Battery Tech: Silicon, Solid State, and Multiple Chemistries
- [36:13](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/catalyst/2025-06-26-gms-big-new-battery-tech-push#t=2173) LMR Timeline: Mass Production Starting in 2028

## Topics

- [Batteries & low-power design](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/batteries-and-low-power)
- [Sourcing & supply chain](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/sourcing-and-supply-chain)
- [Manufacturing partners & offshoring](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/manufacturing-partners)
- [Pricing, margins & unit economics](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/pricing-and-unit-economics)
- [Scaling production](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/scaling-production)

## Most relevant to

early-stage companies

## Mentioned

- GM (company)
- LG Energy Solutions (company)
- Panasonic (company)
- Tesla (company)
- Northvolt (company)
- Lithium Americas (company)
- Vale (company)
- LMR (product)
- NMC (product)
- LFP (product)
- Ultium (product)
- Chevy Silverado EV (product)
- Cadillac Escalade IQ (product)
- Cadillac Lyric (product)

## Related episodes from other shows

- [Reimagining the vehicle of the future](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/ee-times-current/2022-03-25-reimagining-the-vehicle-of-the-future) (EE Times Current)
- [151. Battery Chemistry GPT](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-next-byte-podcast/2023-12-05-151-battery-chemistry-gpt) (The Next Byte Podcast)
- [Why Long-Duration Energy Storage Breaks Batteries – and How Hydrogen Fixes It with Mia Rath](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/hardware-to-save-a-planet/2026-01-22-why-long-duration-energy-storage-breaks-batteries-and-how-hydrogen-fixes-it-with) (Hardware to Save a Planet)
- [Supercharging Lithium-Ion Batteries with Gene Berdichevsky of Sila Nanotechnologies](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/how-i-built-this/2024-03-07-supercharging-lithium-ion-batteries-with-gene-berdichevsky-of-sila-nanotechnolog) (How I Built This)
- [3D electrodes for Next Generation Batteries with Moshiel Biton, CEO and Co-founder of Addionics](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/hardware-to-save-a-planet/2022-10-13-3d-electrodes-for-next-generation-batteries-with-moshiel-biton-ceo-and-co-founde) (Hardware to Save a Planet)

## Citing this page

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