LG Energy Solution and Seoul National University Open Door to Commercializing Next-Generation LMR Batteries
A joint research team has suppressed gas evolution in LMR batteries, helping 40 Ah-class cells retain 92.2% of their energy after 883 cycles.
- 92.2%
- 883
- 40 Ah
- 86% to 97%
What Happened
LG Energy Solution and Professor Jongwoo Lim's research team at Seoul National University's Department of Chemistry have secured a key technology that can significantly improve the stability of next-generation lithium manganese-rich (LMR) batteries. The results were announced on September 7 and published in the journal Nature Communications. The study supports the feasibility of applying LMR batteries to large-format cells for electric vehicles.
LMR is a next-generation cathode material that can lower material costs by using low-cost manganese as a primary material without cobalt, while achieving high energy density by storing energy through both transition metals such as nickel and manganese, and oxygen. However, if oxygen oxidized during charging does not fully return to its original state during discharge, it can damage the battery's internal structure and generate gas, which can increase internal pressure and degrade performance in large-format cells. The joint research team identified factors contributing to gas generation and capacity degradation during charging and discharging, and found that oxygen recovery depends on both the upper cutoff voltage during charging and the discharge cutoff voltage during discharge.
- Increased reduction of oxidized oxygen from 86% to 97%
- Enabled oxygen to recover to nearly its original state
Based on these findings, LG Energy Solution researchers redesigned the operating voltage range and formation process conditions for 40 Ah-class large-format LMR cells, applying a lower-temperature formation process to suppress gas generation. As a result, the optimized cells retained 92.2 percent of their initial energy after 883 charge and discharge cycles. This outstanding cycle-life stability opens the path for commercializing LMR materials in large-format cells for EVs, expanding their potential beyond small-format applications.
“This study identified the causes of degradation in LMR batteries from the perspective of oxygen reversibility and demonstrated that cell stability can be improved through electrochemical protocol design alone. We confirmed that achieving long-term stability in LMR batteries requires comprehensive consideration of not only charging conditions but also discharge conditions.”
“This research addresses one of the key challenges facing LMR batteries. It demonstrates that stable battery life can be secured even in large-format cells by effectively suppressing gas generation, providing an important foundation for growth in the next-generation LMR battery market.”
Why this matters
LMR batteries use inexpensive manganese instead of cobalt, which could lower material costs and boost energy density, but gas generation has blocked their use in large EV cells. This study shows that adjusting voltage limits and formation conditions can keep large-format cells stable for hundreds of cycles. It brings next-generation cobalt-free battery technology closer to commercial use in electric vehicles.
Terms in This Story
- LMR (lithium manganese-rich)
- A type of battery cathode material that uses manganese instead of cobalt to reduce cost and increase energy density.
- Gas evolution
- Generation of gas inside a battery from chemical reactions, which can increase pressure and damage the cell.
- Cutoff voltage
- The preset voltage limit at which battery charging or discharging stops; defines the cell's operating voltage range.
- Formation process
- The initial charge-discharge cycles performed during battery manufacturing to stabilize its performance.
Summarised from the linked release; details can be imperfect — always verify against the original source.