LG Energy Solution and Seoul National University advance LMR battery stability

LG Energy Solution and Seoul National University have announced a breakthrough in stabilizing next-generation lithium manganese-rich (LMR) batteries, a development published in Nature Communications. The research team, led by Professor Jongwoo Lim, successfully addressed the critical challenge of gas evolution and capacity degradation in large-format cells.

LMR batteries are considered a cost-effective alternative for electric vehicles because they use manganese instead of expensive cobalt. However, they often suffer from internal pressure increases and performance loss due to oxygen oxidation during charging. The researchers discovered that adjusting both the upper charging voltage (lowering it from 4.6V to 4.3V) and the lower discharge voltage (extending it to 2.0V) significantly improves oxygen reversibility.

By redesigning the operating voltage range and activation processes, the team demonstrated that a 40Ah-class LMR large-format cell could maintain 92.2% of its initial energy after 883 charge-discharge cycles. This achievement supports the feasibility of using LMR technology in large-scale electric vehicle batteries, with LG Energy Solution aiming for mass production by 2028.