Spring Hill will produce prismatic LMR cells for future GM EVs.
LMR targets 33% higher energy density than LFP at comparable cost.
Workforce grows from 1,200 to 1,700; construction runs late 2026 to 2028.
General Motors and LG Energy Solution will upgrade their shared battery plant in Spring Hill, Tennessee, to build a new type of lower-cost battery cell for future GM electric vehicles. Work begins later this year and is scheduled to wrap up in 2028, according to the Ultium Cells announcement.
The project is expected to create 500 jobs, taking the plant’s workforce from 1,200 to 1,700 once the upgrades are complete.
Ultium Cells, the battery company GM and LG own together, says Spring Hill is expected to become the first plant in the world to mass-produce lithium manganese-rich (LMR) prismatic cells. “The plant is expected to be the first to manufacture this technology at scale,” GM spokesperson Stu Fowle told the Detroit Free Press.
What LMR Means: 33% More Energy Than LFP at a Similar Cost
The battery is one of the most expensive parts of any electric vehicle, so the chemistry inside it matters. Today, the go-to choice for affordable EVs is lithium iron phosphate (LFP), which avoids pricey metals like nickel and cobalt.
LMR, as the name suggests, relies heavily on manganese, a cheaper and more plentiful metal. According to Ultium Cells, LMR cells have the potential to store 33% more energy than LFP cells at a comparable cost.
So why should drivers care? More energy in the same space means more range from a battery of the same size. GM chief financial officer Paul Jacobson said at an industry event in September that LMR’s lower costs would bring a “stark improvement” in the range and value of a GM-built EV, the Free Press reports.
“Prismatic” describes the cell’s shape: a flat, hard-cased rectangle, a bit like a thick hardcover book.
By the Numbers
The GM and LG Energy Solution joint-venture plant in Spring Hill employs 1,200 people, and the LMR upgrade is projected to add 500 jobs | Photo: Ultium Cells- Location: Spring Hill, Tennessee
- New cell type: lithium manganese-rich (LMR), prismatic format
- Energy advantage: potential 33% gain over LFP (company figure)
- Construction: starts later in 2026, completion expected in 2028
- Jobs: 500 new positions, taking the workforce from 1,200 to 1,700
- Investment: US$1 billion by 2030, including an energy-storage project already under way
LMR Line Follows a US$70 Million Energy-Storage Upgrade
Since June 2026, Spring Hill has built LFP cells for energy storage systems, the large battery installations that store electricity for businesses and power grids, for customers of LG Energy Solution Vertech. GM valued that project at US$70 million at the time, the Free Press reports.
That work followed GM’s plan, announced in March, to recall 700 laid-off UAW workers to build non-vehicle batteries at the plant. For now, the Ultium site in Warren, Ohio, is the only one of the two building EV batteries for GM vehicles in the U.S.
Ultium Cells says combined spending on the storage and LMR projects, plus facility improvements, will reach US$1 billion by 2030.
No Start Date Yet for LMR Production
Here’s the catch: these batteries won’t show up in a GM EV right away. Reuters reports that the companies did not say when LMR cell production will begin once construction ends in 2028. GM had previously set a goal of starting commercial LMR production at a U.S. plant in 2028.
GM’s battery plans are also shifting. Reuters reports that the automaker’s battery chief has said GM may drop a plan for LFP cells to focus on LMR instead.
Where LMR Fits in GM’s Battery Lineup
Kurt Kelty, GM vice president of battery and sustainability, said the company’s pricier high-nickel batteries will keep their place at the top of the range. “High-nickel batteries will continue to give customers the highest range in our portfolio,” Kelty said.
He added that LMR moves GM ahead of today’s more affordable chemistries, allowing it to “deliver lower costs with better performance.”
Injae Pahk, president of Ultium Cells, called the project the company’s second major investment at the site. Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee thanked Ultium Cells for the new manufacturing jobs coming to the state.
