Mercedes-Benz is combining lithium manganese oxide and nickel manganese cobalt oxide in a new cathode chemistry, and is also developing lithium nickel manganese oxide cells, as part of efforts toward more compact and lighter battery systems.
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Illustrative image · Source: Interesting Engineering · Manganese-based cell tech to boost EV range, performance with more compact and lighter battery systems. · Rights unverified · Reencoded as WebP with metadata removed. Display may be resized or cropped.
A luxury car manufacturer is advancing a new cell chemistry for EVs. Mercedes-Benz is taking steps to combine lithium manganese oxide (LMO) and nickel manganese cobalt oxide (NMC), a cathode-material combination that uses a higher proportion of manganese and less cobalt and nickel, enabling an attractive balance between energy density and cost.
With lithium nickel manganese oxide (LNMO), Mercedes-Benz is advancing another promising cell chemistry that would eliminate the need for cobalt, require significantly less nickel than today's NMC cells and offer the potential to combine high energy density with attractive costs. The key would be the high-voltage capability of LNMO-based cell chemistry, which could operate at voltages of up to five volts. Compared with LFP, range advantages of up to 30 percent may be possible at comparable weight and packaging space, according to a press release.
Mercedes-Benz aims to develop even more compact and lighter battery systems while maintaining the same or even higher performance. These systems open up new possibilities for vehicle design and interior layout. Furthermore, manganese-based cell technologies can reduce reliance on critical raw materials.
The company is driving forward the development of solid-state batteries in collaboration with its strategic partners, Factorial Energy and ProLogium. With Factorial Energy, a lithium-metal solid-state battery has already been developed and tested for the first time under real-world driving conditions in an EQS. The development vehicle covered 1,205 kilometres from Stuttgart to Malmö without recharging, thereby demonstrating the technology's potential for long ranges.
Mercedes-Benz revealed that it's investigating the next generation of solid-state cells with several partners, including ProLogium's next-generation cells. The focus is on extensive testing of Gen4 cell technology in terms of performance, safety and thermal properties. The aim is to assess their potential for future series production.
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