GM Dumping Pouch EV Cells for Cylinder 4680 Cells

One could say that LG marketing tag line of "Life's Good" might be not so good right now.

According to the Korean news site "thelec.net" GM is following recent announcements by BMW, Volvo, Stellantis and others that have chosen to dump the use of pouches and focus on cylinder cells using the 4680 format that Tesla has brought to market.

The 4680 according to Tesla is five times more energy than the current smaller cells that Panasonic builds for them, increases range by 16 percent and is six time more power when you compare equal to equal size battery packs.

This change in direction has thrown a wrench in the talks for the 4th Ultium Cell plant that GM announced last year with LG. GM has issued a no comment statement on the joint venture with LG. LG has stated that talks are ongoing but delayed.

One would be right to question GM on "Why the Change when prismatic and pouch batteries have higher energy density?"

The downside to cylinder cells is lower energy density due to the increased space in the battery pack when the cylinder cells are packed together.

The answer it would seem to be is twofold, simpler production process and a solid-state future as even Tesla has stated that the advances undergoing testing would allow them to move from existing battery chemistry to solid-state on the same production line.

Auto makers see that by adopting the 4680-cylinder design, the 80mm length of the cylinder making them longer and wider works to reduce the spaces when the cells are packed together. On top of this is that there is no need for tabs like a pouch further allowing space saving, weight reduction, and cost. 

It would seem that along with all the various battery startups, the design thought by these companies is to support the current battery production line with a chemistry makeup that will enhance cell safety, reduce production costs and time while speeding up the rollout of the solid-state energy dense cells. The final piece is the reduction in cost of the cells.

It would seem that the oldest type of batteries, could be what gives the EV market the biggest cost savings for entry level EVs.

For those interested in hearing from one of the leading engineers who has torn down more Tesla's than any other company, the video above will give you Sandy Munro's thoughts on the 4680 cell and the future of batteries.

While Samsung SDI has not confirmed or denied reports, theelec has stated that inside sources confirm a 4680 pilot production line is going online to provide test samples to Tesla and anyone else interested in the cell.

LG Energy Solutions on the other hand has released a press statement that they see great growth in their pouch cell production and yet at the same time to enable them to be a supplier to Tesla and more has set up a mass production facility for production of the 4680 cell with a two-pronged focus on polymer-based solid-state battery cells and sulfide-based solid-state battery cells. Both designed out of colleges in the U.S.

LGES did in the same new release state that the second half of 2023 will see increased revenue growth as cost pass-through mechanisms help drive the price of the pouch cells down as the various Ultium plants ramp up production.

Samsung has moved their R&D from the lab to production with the use of the graphene ball, a unique battery material that enables a 45% increase in capacity, five times faster charging than traditional lithium-ion batteries and ready to go into solid-state battery cell production.

With Samsung 4680 cells going into production, the science-based theory is that a graphene ball based 4680 battery pack of 100kWh will take 12 minutes to fully charge.

As an alternative battery cell provider, GM is now squarely in the sights of Samsung. The Samsung Graphene ball tech along with the Nature Energy technology by Samsung will allow a battery pack of 100kWh to cover 500 miles according to Samsung.

Samsung has built the pilot line for 4680 cells at Cheonan with an annual capacity of up to 12GWh. This is the same plant that is currently now making 2170 cells that are being sold to various EV companies including Tesla.