Ford Makes Breakthrough with LMR Battery Chemistry: Targeting More Affordable, Long-Range Electric Vehicles by End of Decade

[ChasingCoral]

from https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/ford...on-wfx3c/?trackingId=koSGQyxtw6OTfyIXo7QbDQ==

LMR Cell Production at Ford Ion Park

Ford Makes Breakthrough with LMR Battery Chemistry: Targeting More Affordable, Long-Range Electric Vehicles by End of Decade

Charles Poon
Director, Electrified Propulsion Engineering

April 23, 2025
Today marks a pivotal moment in Ford's electrification journey and for the future of electric vehicles. After intense research and development at our state-of-the-art Battery Center of Excellence, Ion Park, I'm thrilled to share that the Ford team is delivering a game-changing battery chemistry: Lithium Manganese Rich (LMR).

This isn't just a lab experiment. We're actively working to scale LMR cell chemistry and integrate them into our future vehicle lineup within this decade. The team is already producing our second-gen LMR cells at our pilot line.

The LMR Advantage:
Our LMR battery technology has the potential to make a step change:

• Enhanced Safety and Stability: Safety is paramount. We've engineered LMR to achieve a safety profile comparable to Lithium Iron Phosphate (LFP) batteries, providing our customers with peace of mind.
• Industry-Leading Energy Density: Our LMR boasts a higher energy density than even high-nickel batteries. This translates to greater range, allowing our customers to go further on a single charge and reducing range anxiety.
• Unprecedented Cost Reduction: We're targeting a cost significantly lower than current mid-nickel batteries. This breakthrough is critical to achieving true cost parity with gasoline vehicles and making electric vehicles accessible to more people

Ford Ion Park: The Epicenter of Battery Innovation

The LMR work is testament to the incredible talent and dedication of our team at Ion Park. Our Battery Center of Excellence is home to more than 135 world-class chemists, manufacturing engineers and scientists, hailing from the top battery companies and research institutions around the globe. We have gathered them together equipping them with the most advanced equipment in the world in an environment with no boundaries.

We've fostered a culture of relentless innovation, where challenging convention and pushing the boundaries of what's possible is part of our every day. From materials science to cell design to manufacturing processes, we're tackling every aspect of battery technology with unwavering focus to reduce cost. Ford started by offering nickel cobalt manganese (NCM) batteries and later added lithium iron phosphate (LFP) batteries in 2023. LMR is the answer to “what next?”

Our Ambition: Affordable Electric Vehicles for Everyone

Our goal is clear: to achieve cost parity with gasoline vehicles and deliver affordable customer solutions tailored to their needs. The introduction of LMR is a key enabler in offering electric vehicles that are both accessible and desirable.

It’s an honor to be part of the Ford team as we achieve this significant milestone.

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[silverelan]

I’m really curious about these batteries. I’d love to know how they compare to our current LG cells, especially in terms of energy density, cost, and C rate.

 

[MellowJohnny]

This.

Pretty short on important details - I'll add cold weather performance to the list above.

 

[ChehRob]

General Rules of Thumb on battery announcements:
Batteries are and will be getting better
Most announcements on new types of chemistry will never happen
Existing chemistries just keep getter better and cheaper (until they won't)

 

[azerik]

20 years from now maybe.

 

[Jimrpa]

I thought Ford sourced their batteries from a 3rd party (LG Chem?)

 

[MnSparty38]

Another news link: https://tech.yahoo.com/transportation/articles/ford-said-made-breakthrough-battery-120610758.html

 

[Fremont Kid]

This is at least as good as the popular press articles promoting 'solid state' batteries. The near future is a curious prospect. I'm almost 70 and have read about flying cars in the near future since I was a kid.

 

[Mache_Nor]

Sir, are these batteries in the room with us now?

 

[rreddy3]

Sir, are these batteries in the room with us now?

Reading the articles, and reading between the lines, I would say the answer is “yes”, to a limited point. It sounds like the development is in a prototype stage, perhaps earlywith small batteries created thus far. It also sounds like results are encouraging enough to continue the project. No doubt a lot more development and engineering remains to be done to manufacture a battery of sufficient size to be useful in a real world vehicle. It’s good to read Ford specifically, and others, are actively devoting the resources and effort (big $$$ and big brains) to further develop and refine battery technology. Back to your question, the answer is yes but it’s a work in progress; on the other hand, the answer is no, they aren’t in the room ready to be dropped into new EVs at this time. But it is progress and that is a good thing.

 

[GreaseMonkey]

from https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/ford-makes-breakthrough-lmr-battery-chemistry-targeting-charles-poon-wfx3c/?trackingId=koSGQyxtw6OTfyIXo7QbDQ==

LMR Cell Production at Ford Ion Park

Ford Makes Breakthrough with LMR Battery Chemistry: Targeting More Affordable, Long-Range Electric Vehicles by End of Decade

Charles Poon
Director, Electrified Propulsion Engineering

April 23, 2025
Today marks a pivotal moment in Ford's electrification journey and for the future of electric vehicles. After intense research and development at our state-of-the-art Battery Center of Excellence, Ion Park, I'm thrilled to share that the Ford team is delivering a game-changing battery chemistry: Lithium Manganese Rich (LMR).

This isn't just a lab experiment. We're actively working to scale LMR cell chemistry and integrate them into our future vehicle lineup within this decade. The team is already producing our second-gen LMR cells at our pilot line.

The LMR Advantage:
Our LMR battery technology has the potential to make a step change:

• Enhanced Safety and Stability: Safety is paramount. We've engineered LMR to achieve a safety profile comparable to Lithium Iron Phosphate (LFP) batteries, providing our customers with peace of mind.
• Industry-Leading Energy Density: Our LMR boasts a higher energy density than even high-nickel batteries. This translates to greater range, allowing our customers to go further on a single charge and reducing range anxiety.
• Unprecedented Cost Reduction: We're targeting a cost significantly lower than current mid-nickel batteries. This breakthrough is critical to achieving true cost parity with gasoline vehicles and making electric vehicles accessible to more people

Ford Ion Park: The Epicenter of Battery Innovation

The LMR work is testament to the incredible talent and dedication of our team at Ion Park. Our Battery Center of Excellence is home to more than 135 world-class chemists, manufacturing engineers and scientists, hailing from the top battery companies and research institutions around the globe. We have gathered them together equipping them with the most advanced equipment in the world in an environment with no boundaries.

We've fostered a culture of relentless innovation, where challenging convention and pushing the boundaries of what's possible is part of our every day. From materials science to cell design to manufacturing processes, we're tackling every aspect of battery technology with unwavering focus to reduce cost. Ford started by offering nickel cobalt manganese (NCM) batteries and later added lithium iron phosphate (LFP) batteries in 2023. LMR is the answer to “what next?”

Our Ambition: Affordable Electric Vehicles for Everyone

Our goal is clear: to achieve cost parity with gasoline vehicles and deliver affordable customer solutions tailored to their needs. The introduction of LMR is a key enabler in offering electric vehicles that are both accessible and desirable.

It’s an honor to be part of the Ford team as we achieve this significant milestone.

22 days too late. April fools came and went. We’ll believe it when we see it.

 

[ChrisO]

Hard to take this seriously with statements like:
" Enhanced Safety and Stability: Safety is paramount. We've engineered LMR to achieve a safety profile comparable to Lithium Iron Phosphate (LFP) batteries "

Where the competitors aren't satisfied with that and are stabbing their batteries with rods to prove there isn't any fire damage instead of just compared to the existing tech levels.

And:
" integrate them into our future vehicle lineup within this decade "

When the competitors in China are rolling out their tech this year.

 

[E90alex]

Hard to take this seriously with statements like:
" Enhanced Safety and Stability: Safety is paramount. We've engineered LMR to achieve a safety profile comparable to Lithium Iron Phosphate (LFP) batteries "

Where the competitors aren't satisfied with that and are stabbing their batteries with rods to prove there isn't any fire damage instead of just compared to the existing tech levels.

And:
" integrate them into our future vehicle lineup within this decade "

When the competitors in China are rolling out their tech this year.

Those batteries you are talking about are LFP batteries. There’s no new battery tech rolling out from China in the near future, just continued refinement of LFP.

So LMR having similar safety profile to LFP isn’t a bad thing or behind the times.

 

[ChrisO]

Those batteries you are talking about are LFP batteries. There’s no new battery tech rolling out from China in the near future, just continued refinement of LFP.

So LMR having similar safety profile to LFP isn’t a bad thing or behind the times.

No, I was referring to their sodium-ion battery, that they say they are going to roll out starting in June.

Not to mention sold state batteries, which from what I understand are rolling out before "the end of the decade".

It is good that they have done this, but at this point it just sounds like another "possible solution in the future".

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