Slate, the EV pickup truck manufacturer, has found another way to simplify its product: the battery.
When the startup revealed its starting price on Wednesday — $24,950 before destination, taxes and other fees — it also said it had changed its battery strategy, eliminating the optional 240-mile package but raising the standard package from 150 miles to 205 miles.
The way Slate has achieved this demonstrates how dramatically the U.S. battery market has changed over the past four years.
Initially, the startup planned to use nickel-manganese-cobalt (NMC) cells. This chemistry is widely used in the automotive industry and is preferred because of the energy density that translates to longer range. But NMC is also expensive, mostly due to high nickel and cobalt prices.
More recently, automakers have begun using another chemical, lithium iron phosphate (LFP). Battery packs that use LFP are less energy intensive but cheaper by about 40%This is thanks in part to low-cost components such as iron, one of the main cathode materials, which replaces nickel and cobalt.
There were good reasons why Slate and other automakers started with NMC. Today’s LFP supply chain is centered in China. This was not always the case, and A123 Systems, an early American battery startup, was founded to commercialize this technology. But after some mistakes, it fell into bankruptcy and that was it Bought in 2013 From a Chinese auto parts company. Since then, Chinese battery companies have embraced the chemistry and taken control of LFP cell production.
LFP’s foreign origin meant that before last summer, the electric vehicles it uses were not eligible for a $7,500 tax credit under the inflation-reducing law. Only batteries made from materials sourced domestically or from companies with which the United States has a free trade agreement are eligible. But when the Big Beautiful Bill eliminated the tax breaks, those concerns evaporated, too. Chinese manufacturers are back in mind. Slate said it is working with Hefei-based battery company Gotion to source the cells, which will be built at a factory in Illinois. According to To InsideEVs.
Another reason automakers are bypassing LFP batteries is their limited range. Automakers selling into the US market have prioritized range, although vehicles that can travel more than 300 miles on a charge tend to be expensive — pretty much the opposite of what Slate was seeking.
In reality, most people don’t need that much range, and as charging networks grow in size, reach, and speed, range anxiety is gradually diminishing. While LFP cells will never match NMC in power density, recent differences in chemistry have helped bridge the gap. Ford, GM, Rivian, and Tesla all offer models that use LFP cells.
The industry’s embrace of LFP cells has also coincided with its move to cell-to-pack technology, which Slate uses to build its battery packs.
Previously, when automakers assembled a battery pack, they first loaded the cells into modules, which were then loaded into the package. This setup allowed them to use pouch cells, which are cheaper and lighter. But over time, they realized that the unit approach negated the cost and weight savings offered by pouch cells. Although some EVs still use modules, the industry is moving toward cell-to-pack construction, where solid-state batteries, either prismatic or cylindrical, are loaded directly into the pack itself.
Cell-to-package technology optimizes manufacturing steps and enhances volumetric energy density, a useful attribute for a small electric vehicle like the Slate truck. Additionally, LFP cells can be charged to 100% capacity with fewer concerns about degradation compared to NMC, meaning drivers can use the full package on a daily basis.
While there may have been a moment when Slate’s leadership had to greenlight the switch from NMC to LFP, momentum toward this decision has been building for years. The LFP won’t capture the entire market — automakers like GM are betting on a completely different chemistry — but its combination of low cost and decent range makes the LFP an obvious choice for what will be the cheapest electric car in the U.S.
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