# GM Battery Campus Targets 2028 Commercial LMR Cell Production

By John Kim

Canonical URL: https://www.tokenpost.com/news/business/30229
Published: 2026-10-12T11:14:32.000Z
Updated: 2026-10-12T11:14:32.000Z
Section: Business

> The Warren, Michigan, campus represents a combined $900 million investment and will support lithium manganese-rich batteries for future electric trucks and SUVs.

General Motors is building a 500,000-square-foot battery-development center in Warren, Michigan, to move lithium manganese-rich cells from laboratory research toward commercial manufacturing for future electric trucks and full-size SUVs.

The Ancker-Johnson Battery Cell Development Center sits beside GM’s Wallace Battery Cell Innovation Center. Together, the facilities represent a combined $900 million investment in battery development.

The Ancker-Johnson center is intended to bridge laboratory research and high-volume manufacturing. It will test manufacturing processes before they are transferred to production plants, with the potential to shorten battery-development timelines by as much as one year.

The center’s first major project is lithium manganese-rich, or LMR, prismatic battery cells. GM and LG Energy Solution plan to begin commercial U.S. production by 2028, with pre-production expected at an LG Energy Solution facility by late 2027.

LMR batteries use more manganese and rely less on cobalt and nickel than conventional high-nickel chemistries. The LMR cell has 33% higher energy density than GM’s best-performing lithium iron phosphate cells at a comparable cost.

“We’re pioneering manganese-rich battery technology to unlock premium range and performance at an affordable cost, especially in electric trucks,” Kurt Kelty, GM’s vice president of battery, propulsion and sustainability, said.

The chemistry is intended for future electric trucks and full-size SUVs. GM expects trucks using LMR cells to exceed 400 miles of driving range and cost less at the battery-pack level than models using its current high-nickel chemistry. GM began researching manganese-rich lithium-ion cells in 2015 and has prototyped LMR cells at the Wallace center.

The Warren campus is also developing sodium-ion cells for stationary grid storage. Prototypes for that application are planned at the Wallace center during 2026.

The project comes as GM adjusts its broader EV manufacturing plans. North American EV demand slowed in 2025. GM recorded a $1.6 billion charge in the third quarter and expected approximately $6 billion in additional fourth-quarter charges as it reassessed EV capacity and related investments.

Artificial-intelligence-assisted modeling tools have reduced some battery-validation work from months to days. The Ancker-Johnson center is intended to carry that development work into pilot-scale manufacturing ahead of planned commercial LMR production in 2028.