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Ultium Cells retools its Tennessee plant for LMR cells pitched at LFP cost with 33% higher energy density

Ultium Cells, GM's venture with LG Energy Solution, will finish retooling its Tennessee plant for LMR cells by 2028, aiming at LFP cost with 33% more density. The plan puts a date on a U.S.-made cell meant to sit between low-cost LFP and energy-dense high-nickel chemistries.

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What happened

  • If mass production goes as planned, the Tennessee plant would be the first anywhere to make prismatic lithium manganese-rich cells.
  • With LMR added, Ultium Cells would cover high-nickel, LFP and LMR chemistries in both pouch and prismatic formats.
  • LG Energy Solution and GM agreed in December 2024 to co-develop prismatic batteries and key materials, then set out a joint LMR commercialization plan in May 2025.
  • Ultium Cells head Park In-jae said the project is the second large-scale investment in the Tennessee plant.

Why it matters

  • What doesn't add up contradiction LG's target is cost similar to LFP, while GM battery executive Kurt Kelty said, per Sedaily, that LMR will beat entry-level technology at lower cost; the first production cells will show whose word fits.
  • Who's exposed exposure Naming a plant and a 2028 completion date puts LG's LMR program on a public schedule, so a slip in the modification work will be visible long before the line is due.
  • What it limits constraint Until the Tennessee system is finished, Ultium can supply only the high-nickel and LFP cells it already makes, so any LMR gain on cost and range reaches GM no earlier than 2028.

LMR cells use less cobalt and more manganese, a relatively abundant metal [4]. LG Energy Solution's pairing of LFP-level cost with about 33% higher energy density [5] can be read two ways. If the cost is similar per kilowatt-hour, the gain is size. 1 divided by 1.33 is about 0.75, so a pack holding the same energy as an LFP pack can be roughly a quarter smaller [17]. If the cost is similar per cell of the same size, each kilowatt-hour comes out about a quarter cheaper than LFP [18]. The second reading is the larger claim, because it lowers the price of each unit of range as well as its bulk [18].

The capital goes into modifying a plant that is already running [2]. Upgrade work starts late this year, less than a year after the building's LFP storage line began [15], and the partners put completion at 2028 [2]. Ultium Cells did not disclose the cost of the upgrade, the line's capacity or which vehicles the cells are meant for.

So far the published durability evidence comes from a single study. Working with a Seoul National University chemistry team led by Professor Lim Jong-woo, LG found a way to suppress gas generation in LMR cells [7]. In that study, a 40-ampere-hour large-format cell kept 92.2% of its initial energy after about 900 charge-discharge cycles [7]. The cell lost 7.8 percentage points over those cycles [14], and the result appeared in Nature Communications [7].

The 2028 line can go a few ways. On time and at LFP-level cost per kilowatt-hour, it gives GM the smaller pack worked out above at LFP prices. Running on time but above LFP on cost, it leaves LMR as one more mid-priced chemistry. The worst case is that the gas and cycle-life results from the study cell do not carry into prismatic production, and the date slips. I think the schedule is credible and the cost is the open question. LG took its first LMR patent in 2010 and had filed more than 300 by the first half of this year [10], so the 2028 line arrives 18 years into the program [16]. The counter-case is that a patent count measures research, while cost per kilowatt-hour on a new cell format is settled on the factory floor. The view fails on schedule if modification work has not started by the end of this year [2], and on cost if the first Tennessee LMR cells cost more per kilowatt-hour than LFP.

What to watch

  • Whether plant modifications in Tennessee begin late this year, the first date the partners set for the retrofit.
  • Any disclosure of the upgrade's dollar cost or cell capacity, the figures needed to size the LMR bet against the plant's LFP storage line.
  • Which GM vehicles get the prismatic LMR cells, and whether they are priced near LFP models or high-nickel ones.

Information, not investment advice. This story is general information about companies and markets, drawn from cited reporting. It is not a recommendation to buy, sell or hold any security; check the cited sources before acting.

Clarity's read

What the record supports and how the coverage leans. The claims behind it follow.

Reality

Evidence55
Adoption8
Hype gap+30
Incentives70
Confidence60
Why these scores

Claim ledger

Ranked by verification strength, evidence, and original report placement.

  1. [1]

    Ultium Cells said on September 29 that it will build a new production system for next-generation prismatic lithium manganese-rich (LMR) batteries at its plant in Tennessee.

    Reported Supported Source: Ultium Cells, as reported by SedailyView cited source
  2. [2]

    Work to upgrade the Tennessee facility, including plant modifications, will begin late this year (2026) and be completed by 2028.

    Reported Supported Source: Ultium Cells, as reported by SedailyView cited source
  3. [3]

    If mass production proceeds as planned, the Tennessee plant is expected to be the first in the world to produce prismatic LMR battery cells.

    Reported Supported Source: Sedaily reportView cited source
  4. [4]

    LMR batteries reduce the use of costly cobalt and raise the share of manganese, which is relatively abundant.

    Reported Supported Source: Sedaily reportView cited source
  5. [5]

    LG Energy Solution plans to achieve about 33% higher energy density at a cost similar to that of lithium iron phosphate (LFP) batteries.

    Reported Supported Source: LG Energy Solution, as reported by SedailyView cited source
  6. [6]

    LMR is expected to offer an option between the cost competitiveness of LFP and the high energy density of high-nickel batteries.

    Reported Supported Source: Sedaily reportView cited source
  7. [7]

    On September 7, LG Energy Solution secured technology to suppress gas generation in LMR batteries through joint research with a Seoul National University chemistry team led by Professor Lim Jong-woo; the research showed a 40-ampere-hour large-format cell retaining 92.2% of its initial energy after about 900 charge-discharge cycles and was published in Nature Communications.

    Reported Supported Source: Sedaily reportView cited source
  8. [8]

    Once the prismatic LMR production system is in place, Ultium Cells will be a combined manufacturing hub covering high-nickel, LFP and LMR chemistries and pouch and prismatic form factors.

    Reported Supported Source: Sedaily reportView cited source
  9. [9]

    Kurt Kelty, GM's vice president of battery and sustainability, said building an LMR prismatic cell production system at the Tennessee plant is a key step toward battery technology suited to customer needs and U.S. battery manufacturing leadership, and added that LMR will go beyond current entry-level battery technology to deliver better performance at lower cost (paraphrased in the report).

    Reported Supported Source: Kurt Kelty, GM, as paraphrased by SedailyView cited source
  10. [10]

    LG Energy Solution secured its first LMR-related patent in 2010 and had filed more than 300 patents by the first half of 2026.

    Reported Supported Source: Sedaily reportView cited source
  11. [11]

    LG Energy Solution signed an agreement with GM in December 2024 to jointly develop prismatic batteries and key materials, and announced a joint plan to commercialize prismatic LMR batteries in May 2025.

    Reported Supported Source: Sedaily reportView cited source
  12. [12]

    The Tennessee plant has been producing LFP battery cells for energy storage systems since June 2026.

    Reported Supported Source: Sedaily reportView cited source
  13. [13]

    Park In-jae, head of Ultium Cells, said the investment is the second large-scale investment in the Tennessee plant, shows Ultium Cells growing into a diversified battery cell manufacturer, and that the company will upgrade its production system in line with shifting market demand.

    Reported Supported Source: Park In-jae, Ultium Cells, as reported by SedailyView cited source
  14. [14]

    The 40Ah research cell lost 7.8 percentage points of its initial energy over about 900 cycles.

    Derived Supported
  15. [15]

    The LMR retrofit work begins less than a year after the Tennessee plant's LFP storage line started.

    Derived Supported
  16. [16]

    A 2028 line arrives 18 years after LG Energy Solution's first LMR patent.

    Derived Supported
  17. [17]

    If cost per kWh is similar to LFP, a pack with the same energy as an LFP pack can be about a quarter smaller, since 1/1.33 is about 0.75.

    Derived Insufficient
  18. [18]

    If cost is similar per cell of the same size, cost per kWh would be about 75% of LFP's, roughly a quarter cheaper.

    Derived Insufficient

Sources

2 independent publishers whose own reporting we read for this story.

  1. en.sedaily.com

    1 article · September 29, 2026

    LG Energy Solution to Build World's First Prismatic LMR Battery Line in Tennessee
  2. interestingengineering.com

    1 article · October 2, 2026

    General Motors brings 33% denser lithium manganese-rich EV battery tech to Tennessee

Topics and entities

Topics

  • EV battery manufacturing
  • Lithium manganese-rich (LMR) batteries

Entities